Standard Mission: Tainted Oasis of Rostol

Oasis – At the docks
- Vayu -

Before Vayu could answer Zephyr’s question, Ludo and a huge fisherman appeared behind them. Vayu looked at Hector, taking in his massive appearance.

That must be Hector, he thought and sighed when the man immediately assumed, they would join his search party. Why were they going out onto the lake in the middle of the freakin’ night again? In reality, he wasn’t against it, but he still wanted to know their reasons.

Instead of moving towards the cabin, he stayed by the docks and turned around to the lake. In the distance he could see the island getting hit by rays of the setting sun.

“What’s on that island?” he added to the questions of the others without turning around. “And what makes the Seer so special that we’re going out looking for him at night?”

At the docks

"Of course, I'll offer what information I can." Hector responded with a nod, as he held the vanguards gaze for a few moments.  It looked like he was looking for something, getting a feel for Zeyphr before his eyes shifted to cherry with interest for a split second.

He turned his right side to the vanguards, as he pointed to a relatively large fishing boat with various fishing tools like nets.  There were a few weird contraptions embedded into a boat, it looked like metallic pole that latched onto the back of the boat that skimmed across the top of the water.

"Something happened?  If it's critical enough to risk Ludo's well-being on the lake at night, I'd like to know exactly what happened." Hector firmly asked with curious concern as his interest was suddenly drawn to Scarlet, as he continued to say now in a firm tone "We can always bring back samples."

Ludo immediately pushed his way into the conversation pushing his way in front of Zeyphr and staring up at Ludo.  His eyes were determined as Hector's was looking back at him with equal intensity, the two having somewhat of a stare off.

"It's urgent, the barrier could be at risk, some elf almost murdered me in my lab!  I don't have time for samples!" Ludo borderline yelled, as Hector's face suddenly shifted into a look of anger and irritation.  

The dock workers and fisherman suddenly turning their gaze towards the conversation, as they began muttered among themselves about what had been said.  Many a worried look in their eyes, as they glanced back at the village for a second, others more annoyed.

"...That makes it even worse.  You can't defend yourself Ludo, and you want to isolate yourself on the lake after almost being murdered?  I'm not going to let you add yourself to the kidnapped tally." Hector responded rather baffled his eyes widened in a fit of rage, as he turned towards the docks and quickly began getting the small boat ready for departure, gesturing the vanguards to follow him.

"It's a shrine to the lake spirit, the seer goes there all the time to deliver the offerings of the villagers.  Normally, everyone besides the seer is denied access, unless some event is happening." Hector responded to Vayu, as he continued to set up the ship while also continuing to answer his questions, "People put a lot of faith into the seer, apparently his linage was here before those fire demons turned our surroundings into a desert, before the barrier appeared...  They communed with the lake spirit when the barrier rose.  If he were to vanish... well, it would cause panic.... something I don't want happening during these kidnapping cases."

Ludo began shoving his way onto the ship, despite Hector's continued warnings at the same time as the vanguards.  Hector appeared annoyed, but didn't make any attempt to stop him this time.

Spoiler:

Zephyr Arc - Docks

Ignoring Ludo for the most part, Zephyr watched his little staring contest with Hector, before the fisherman brushed him off and boarded his incredibly fancy fishing boat. Zephyr followed right behind him, following suit with Hector and ignoring Ludo's attempts to board along with them. Instead, he decided this was as good a time as any to talk to Hector about their mission proper.

"We were sent here to investigate what we were told was a kidnapping case. We didn't get much information to go on and the townspeople didn't see too keen to talk to us so we went to see Ludo to find out what he knew. Turns out he had no idea what was going on and he only managed to give us a crash course on elementals before a strange elf-like woman dropped a corrupted elemental core into Ludo's lab through a closed window." He paused for a moment to recount if he missed anything before continuing.

"She was able to phase through glass, walls and even the ground. I managed to wound her pretty badly but she ended up running off. We managed to finish off the elemental and save Ludo, but we still have no idea what's going on here. I'd like to ask; how are you sure it's kidnapping? We'd normally be told that people were simply 'going missing' unless the ones requesting aid were fairly sure someone was deliberately taking people."

B - Don't intervene

[C – Help Ludo get on the ship]

Oasis – At the docks
- Vayu -

After listening to Hector’s explanation, he began to debate in his head what they should do with Ludo.

It was clear the scientist was adamant about coming along, but according to Hector, he would pose a risk.

Scarlet probably wouldn’t want to leave him behind if he was in danger here. And Zephyr? Vayu’s eyes wandered over to Zephyr, trying to decipher his stand on the matter. However, the other Vanguard seemed to be content with no interfering.

Well, it would be calculated risk and if Scarlet was right, they needed him for information. Worst case he would end up kidnapped as well, but then they would just have to rescue him with the other kidnapped people.

Without a word, he grabbed Ludo by the neck of his shirt and pulled him onto the boat. He could feel Hector’s irritated look and shrugged.

“Can always use him as bait if he gets too annoying,” he said, his expression so calm that it was unclear if he was serious or not. “To draw out whatever is causing this mess.”

After they were all on the boat, Hector pulled the stern line and steered them out onto the lake.

“Yeah, how exactly do theses kidnappings happen?” he added to Zephyr’s question after a short silence. “Has anyone returned? Have you found any bodies?” He was beginning to suspect that kidnapping wasn’t the right word. It sounded more like people were simply disappearing on the lake. In that case, who was to say they were even still alive?

Scarlet

[C - Help Ludo get on the ship]

"If it makes things any better, he'll be with us, so it's not like he'll be alone..." Scarlet said in resposne to Hector's refusal to take Ludo. "I really do think he'll be able to help us out."

"The lake spirit... is that what controls the elementals?" she quietly, more to herself than directed to the others. She moved to help Ludo onto the boat, but frowned at the forceful way Vayu had already done so.

"That's not funny, Vayu!" she replied, though her tone did not convey a sense of disapproval, unsure if Vayu was joking or not to lighten the mood. As she boarded the boat, she turned her thoughts to Colm.

"Isn't it a bit odd that Colm was seen swimming out? Given the behaviour of the elementals, you would think that he would take a boat instead..."

On the lake

"If you're confident enough in your abilities to defend him then I won't stop you from bringing him." Hector resigned, as he nodded to a few of the fisherman as they pushed out onto the lake who nodded in response and began preparing a few other less fancy boats.

"They defended me from that claw!  I should be fine!"  Ludo called out in defiance squirm away from Vayu's grasp, as he appeared to behind Scarlet so that Vayu and Zeyphr were between him, as he quickly responded to Scarlet's question "Only thing that can control elementals with carving their core is a greater elemental, but it wouldn't act in such a bizzare way...."

Hector rose an eyebrow at Zeyphr's explanation, as he face seemed to grow more confused by the second with the bizzare explanation Zeyphr gave.  A look of grief crossed his face, as he looked at Ludo and then to the lake outside.

"I haven't noticed anything bizarre going on with the elementals, or anything what you're describing including that strange elf..." Hector stated, as he appeared to be deep in though thinking about what Zeyphr said for a few moments.

"Elementals can be anywhere near water, they're probably creating them somewhere deeper... but an elf couldn't survive at the bottom of the lake." Ludo quickly chimed in pushing himself forward towards the rest of the group, rocking the boat slightly from his movements as Hector quickly stabilized it without batting an eye.

"Not sure, people vanish all over the city, though there have been vague reports of the missing standing near the lake at times.  We've never found a body, so I assumed it was a kidnapping since it's happening in such a large scale" Hector responded to Vayu and Zeyphr's question.

As the group began to approach the island various shadowy figures began to be shown scrambling around it, as sparks of lightning seemed to shimmer in the distance, that collided into a man with a staff that collapsed to the ground.  As they squirmed away, dragging the poor man with them, the vanguards could make out an image of one of the creatures that had scales similar to the elf woman when she was injured.

Spoiler:

"What the ****!?" Hector yelled.

Ludo suddenly slammed the metallic poles on the back of the boat that dropped down into the water, they suddenly erupt in a torrent of water, speeding up the boat towards the island. Soon, the man on the ground became visible, as he was being further dragged away from the vanguards.

Spoiler:

Updated Sheet

Spoiler:

Zephyr Arc - Deck

Scarlet, and less predictably Vayu helped Ludo get on the ship. Hector seemed displeased but accepted his presence. The fisherman seemed understandably confused as he explained what had happened at Ludo's, but provided them with the information they needed.

People randomly go missing, and then they're occasionally seen near the shore... were they being controlled, or was something else going on? Just as Zephyr sank into thought, the boat closed in on the island and they witnessed signs of a fight.

Zephyr hopped up to the highest point of the boat when he caught sight of a man being dragged away, casting Boost and Overdrive. They suddenly had a live case, letting him get taken wasn't an option. He vaulted off the boat with his spear, the forward momentum serving to accelerate him further. As he sailed closer, he fired a volley of ice arrows at the area in front of the creature to deter its escape.

"Wait... aren't those the same scales...?" He gasped as he got a closer look. The 'elf' certainly had the same scales... did these things have some sort of transformation ability? He didn't really have time to think further in middle of combat, so he shelved the thought for now.

Scarlet

Despite having reservations, it looked like Hector was at least tolerating Ludo's presence on their sortie. Accepting Ludo's explanation about the elementals, Scarlet remained silent as the boat approached the island, where movement caught their eyes.

It looked like there were some demons dragging a man... Scarlet stumbled slightly as Ludo did something which caused the boat to accelerate. Getting closer, Scarlet saw the scaley demons were dragging a hooded man, a staff nearby. Could that be the Seer?

"You mean as the elf?" Scarlet replied to Zephyr, narrowing her eyes at the demons. In response, har hands went to her weapon, gripping the bow in one hand while her other hand went to her quiver, thumbing the fletching on the arrows.

Oasis – At the island
- Vayu -

Despite the seriousness of the situation, he grinned at Scarlet, making it clear that he had been joking.

“C’mon, it was a little funny,” he replied. “Especially watching him get riled up.” Vayu pointed with his thumb towards Ludo, who looked clearly annoyed.

His expression turned serious when they approached the island and saw a man, presumably the Seer, being attacked by a bunch of creatures who bore a similarity to the elf they had fought earlier. They began to drag him away.

Zephyr immediately launched into action, looking like a cannonball.

Vayu waited until the boat hit the shore and then jumped onto the island. He summoned Jack Frost.

“Use your lightning cloak ability,” he commanded the demon.

Jack Frost jumped through the sand, looking around with wide eyes. “Oh…what is this place?” he asked cheerily, looking at the beach, the water, and the boat. Vayu resisted the urge to face palm.

“Concentrate!” he called his attention back to the battle. “Go support Zephyr and save the Seer.”

“Aye aye!” Jack Frost jumped into action. He activated his Lightning Cloak and then began shooting Ice Bullets at the Vodyanik.

“Scarlet! If they run, can you keep some of the demons from escaping?” he asked. “I think it’s time we have a heart-to-heart with some of them before they crawl back into their holes.”

Oasis - At the Island

As the high tech boat suddenly rammed onto the shore of the small island, Ludo recoiled away in the back of the boat away from the danger, as Hector pulled out his javelin standing in front of Ludo like a mercenary defending their employer. Hector's eyes were locked on the sinister Vodyanik, waiting for their move, but they were more focused on Zeyphr and Vayu who had begun furiously attacking them with a bombardment of deadly ice spells.

"Vanguards!" One of the Vodyanik yelled, as the creature nimbly leaped in front of its allies swinging its tail down like a whip and slamming the arrows out of the air. However, Jack frost quickly responded to the attack, as numerous ice bullets slammed into the Vodyanik as the bullets loudly slamming off its thick hide pushing the creature back next to the seer.

"I can't.... sacrifice me, it's for the cause" The injured Vodyanik uttered, as the tail of the scarred Vodyanik holding the seer pierced his brethren in the back, as the tail began pulling maga out of the creature its skin beginning to sag and vigor of the creature beginning to disappear.

"Prey Upon..." The Vodyanik uttered, as he bolted towards the statue away from the vanguards dragging the Seer with him.

The still functioning Vodyanik jumped towards the vanguards as he erupted into a torrent of lighting, the force was enough to shock and knock back Zeyphr, but before it could do any more damage the lightning was suddenly pulled away. It lunged and got absorbed into the now gleaming snow of Jack frost.

Zephyr Arc - Island

Zephyr was momentarily blown back by the sudden lightning eruption from one of the creatures, but immediately took the chance created by Jack Frost absorbing the blast to lunge at the thing, casting the very spell he'd stolen from what he'd guessed was one of their number not long ago. The effects of the spell ripped speed away from his opponent and added it to himself... which was further doubled by his own Overdrive.

His already superior speed now pushed to the brink while the creature itself was slowed, Zephyr zipped past it in the same movement and rushed after the Vodyanik dragging the seer, firing Ice Bolts at the creature he'd just left behind. "Vayu, Scarlet! I'll get the runner, hold this one for me!" He called to his companions as he charged. With the speed he was going at now, he was sure he could catch it before it made it to the statue that appeared to be it's goal.

Scarlet

"On it!" Scarlet replied to Vayu, summoning Nekomata as she disembarked. "Neko! Keep an eye for out for anything else coming behind us!" The demon hissed in affirmation, eyes scanning the beach for other threats.

Meanwhile, Scarlet nocked an arrow, pouring Maga into it. "Sapping Shot!" she cried, loosing the spell-infused arrow at the Vodyanik that Zephyr had indicated.

Oasis – At the island
- Vayu -

“Yeee!” Jack Frost called out when he absorbed the lightning.

“Jack!” Vayu called him back to attention. “Go with Zephyr!” To increase the demon’s speed, he cast Synchro Gift on him, and Jack Frost took off after Zephyr, the Vodyanik and the Seer. As he closed the gap, he fired off another volley of Ice Bullets at the demon.

Scarlet’s arrow tethered down one of the demons. Returning his attention to the other Vodyanik, he eyed it carefully, unsure what powers it had left.

On the island

Suddenly, the battle turned into a crazed race to the solemn statue and everyone in the race could give even a agile Tengu a run for their money. Zeyphr, Jack Frost, and the Vodyanik whisking towards the finish line with the two on the literal Voldyanik's tail.  

The Voldyanik's eyes quickly widened in surprise realizing the vanguards catching up to him, as he suddenly wrapped his tail around the seer and held him out in the path of the ice bullets.  The attack collided with the seer, but the seer didn't react to the attack like he was knocked off as his skin began to chill over and a strange water began to fall from his body.

"We don't need the vessel, just rip out the core you idiot!" The wounded Voldyanik that Vayu was watching lying on the ground uttered in pain, but his eyes seemed to have a glimmer of recognition and surprise, like he noticed something familiar.

The injuried Voldyanik slowly got back up on his shaking legs and suddenly and fiercely lunged at Scarlet's Neko at a startling speed that seemed impossible after the injuries he took.  A faint glimmer of maga flowing through him from an outside source, as he slammed his tail into the side of her head before collapsing to the ground a second later coughing up a eerie blue fish blood.

However, The sapping shot that scarlet shot remained true, as it whisked through the air and slamming into the chest of the target Voldyanik as it yelped in pain its legs falling towards the ground barely able to hold himself up with his arms.

The voldyanik near the statue  suddenly stopped running, as he ran his hand through the back of the body pulling out an elemental core, as he tossed it back towards the statue it rolling beneath a small gap in the statue, the seer's body went limp, as it unraveled into a pile of water that washed over the Voldyanik.

Zephyr Arc - Island

When the Vodyanik ripped what looked like an elemental core out of the seer's body, it caused the body to dissolve. Surprised but not staggered, Zephyr followed his instincts and chased the core it tossed at the statue, bypassing the Vodianik with his vastly superior speed and agility. With the core rolling into a gap in the statue, Zephyr cast Shift on it immediately upon reaching it,lifting the rapidly shrinking statue to look for the core that slipped under it.

Scarlet - Island

Scarlet continued to feed her spell with Maga, keeping the Voldyanik immobilized. She moved towards Neko as she recovered from the attack, shaking her head as she stumbled back to her feet. Together the pair approached Neko's attacker, the feline demon pinning it down, hissing at it and raising a clawed arm threateningly.

Scanning for the rest of the party, Scarlet saw Zephyr race past the fleeing Voldyanik towards the base of the statue. Raising her bow, she loosed an arrow at the demon.

Oasis – At the island
- Vayu -

Jack Frost’s eyes widened when the Vodyanik suddenly held up the Seer as defense against his spells.

“Hee! What are you doing, coward?” he called out. He managed to subvert most of the ice bullets, but one hit the Seer squarely in the chest. However, the Seer didn’t even react.

A confused Jack Frost stopped and looked towards Zephyr when the Vodyanik ripped the core from the Seer and his body melted into water. When Zephyr then proceeded to firstly shrink the statue, his eyes widened in amazement.

Back at the beach, Vayu stepped up to the immobilized Vodyanik that was under the influence of Scarlet’s arrow. He placed his boot on the demon’s shoulder.

“What do you want with the Seer?” he asked calmly.

Oasis - At the island

Zeyphr lifted up the shrinking statue to see a small gaping hole beneath it that seemed to drop into darkness.  However, at the bottom of the hole the elemental core of the seer glowed, seemingly much smaller due to the depth of the cave.  Small lines of ominous darkness, that seemed to be snake-like seemed to slither over the orb latching around it, examining it carefully.

"Back. UP! Aqua Current!" The Voldyanik that Zeyphr passed up yelled, as a sphere of lightning began to emit from the creature's body, as lightning seemingly crackling with his rage.  He held his hand up and condensed the lightning into a small sphere, ready to fire.

The Voldyanik Neko grabbed seemed unresponsive, near death due to his injuries however the one Vayu was looking at seemed emotionless sort of content with the situation.  He didn't react to the injuries or respond, simply staring at the man's eyes before he let out a sharp squeal like command to the other attacking Voldyanik.

He slowly lowered his hands, as the lightning faded, he gave a look of anger towards Zeyphr before kneeling down and placing his hands on the ground, seemingly surrendering.

"That isn't the seer, the seer has already died months ago.  We are reclaiming what is ours." The Vodyanik flatly responded to Vayu, as Hector approached from behind Vayu now slightly less tense with the situation.  The Vodyanik eyed Hector with a look of annoyance, as Hector simply sighed.

"Information now.  My friend here doesn't have time for your games." Hector stated flatly.

"Fine, we're replacing the lake spirit with a new one, a better one.  The seer's unusual core will achieve that." The Vodyanik responded looked at Hector, as the demon narrowed his eyes.

"I knew it!  You must of made that claw like elemental!"  Ludo yelled, running over to the rest of the group, as he had a furious expression in his eyes like he was about to attack the creature.

"Not me, but one of ours did attack you since they considered your research a threat...."  The Voldyanik muttered in a offended tone, as he turned his gaze to look at each of the vanguards, seemingly examining them with interest, "Why don't you just leave?  You're here to stop the kidnappings? Well, with the seer we'll finally be done, so your mission is complete... You'll never be able to reclaim the orb now that it's been offered anyways."

Oasis – At the island
- Vayu -

Jack Frost snapped out of his amazement and jumped in front of Zephyr, ready to absorb the lightning just as the Vodyanik ceased his attack. “It surrendered,” he squealed happily and called out to Vayu through their mental link.

Vayu ‘s eyes narrowed at the Vodyanik by his feet. Judging by his actions, he seemed to be the leader. By now Hector and Ludo had arrived. Ludo, overly emotional as usual rushed in.

Before he could reach them, Vayu held up a hand. “You stay back,” he said “This is still not about you, so keep it bottled until we’re done here.”

He returned his attention to the demon and sighed.

“Confusion Wave,” he cast at him and his companion, to lower their ability to resist. Then he hoisted the demon up by his neck.

“Scarlet, save your maga. You can release the arrow,” he said. “And have Neko bring the other one. I think we should get back to Zephyr.”

His eyes returned to the demon he was holding up. “You attack me, and I will end your life,” he said calmly. “We’re going to visit you other friend by the statue now and then you will explain to me what exactly happened to your lake spirit and why people were kidnapped in the first place and where they ended up. And why you decided it was a good idea to offer up another being that didn’t volunteer.”

And without another word, he moved towards Zephyr, half-dragging the demon along.

When they arrived at where the statue used to be, he found Jack Frost guarding the remaining Vodyanik, by moving around it in circles, looking quite cheery. Vayu rolled his eyes. Did that demon take anything seriously?

“Zephyr, can you see anything?” he asked as the other Vanguard was looking down a hole. “Can we get the core back?”

“This one seems to be the leader,” he added and released his grip on the Vodyanik, letting it fall to the ground unceremoniously. He looked at it expectantly, waiting for answers.

Zephyr Arc - Island

Not stopping to gawk, Zephyr tossed the statue over his shoulder, not bothering to dispel his shift. He stated down intently at the hole, completely ignoring the Vodyanik whose attack was easily blocked by Jack Frost. It was a non-threat to start with.

Vayu soon made his way over, along with the rest of them, including the ever high-strung Ludo. "I could try." He replied to Vayu's question. "If you can, use your Arcane Barrier on me. Cherry, do your thing." He said, then bent over the hole and cast Shift, causing his arm to grown and shrink as appropriate to fit inside, reaching in to try and grab the core. Cherry quickly cast her Protection of the Fae before he could reach in, Vayu following with his own spell close behind. With his current buffs, he judged that he would be able to pull out with little damage if things went south, even more so with Vayu's barrier added on top. "Keep those fish from trying anything."

Scarlet

Nodding at Vayu's suggestion, Scarlet cut off the supply of Maga to her spell, ending the Sapping Shot. She moved over to Neko, and together the pair moved and restrained the Voldyanik, following Vayu to where Zephyr was.

"What about the other kidnapped people," she addressed the apparent leader of the Voldyaniks on the way to Zephyr. "What have you done to them? Where are they?" There was a hard edge to her voice.

Oasis - On the island

The Voldyanik's eyes began to spin as he was hit by the confusion wave like some sort of drunken fool who had a bit too many at Nena's bar.  He was struggling to move properly, slurring his words, as he tripped over his feet multiple time like a clumsy toddler with Vayu yanking him back onto his feet each time before he collapsed in front of the shrine.

"We didn't do anything to the current lake spirit.. Ask him yourself"  The Voldyanik finally stated getting used to the confusion effects with a sinister growl at Vayu, as the other Voldyanik meet eyes with him as the two gave an understanding nod.

"What did you do to the lake spirit?" Hector quickly commented, as he tightened his grip on his weapon, looking absolutely furious about the situation.

"Not sure, we just wanted the seer. Ask the other Voldyanik, they hold more of a grudge against you humans." The Voldyanik scoffed at Scarlet, but the Voldyanik went silent when he saw Zeyphr lower his arm into the darkness.  Everyone watched with fear, waiting for what kind of trap would snap.

Spoiler:

"A gift!  But it's strange?" A voice snake like voice hissed inside Zeyphr's head though the voice sounded quite confused, as a hand as white as ash reached on top of the orb and grabbed it at the same time as Zeyphr.

"What?  What happened to Colm?  Did you?" The voice stated increasingly startled, as Zeyphr's head began to ring out in pain like an invisible force from the entire village was pushing against him.  However, the snakes didn't make any hostile action towards Zeyphr, simply examining the large extended arm, as Zeyphr simply heard a bombardment of questions in his head all overlapping with each other as Zeyphr could barely make them out.

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Why is Colm an elemental?"

"What's going on in the village?"

"Why would you harm the humans here?  They're kind, aren't you supposed to protect them?"

"Are you a vanguard?  What would your comrades think?"

The the questions grew more rapid by the second, as the white ash creature began to lightly tug at Zeyphr's arms with his other arm.  Not enough to invoke any force or danger of pulling him in, more like he was beckoning him to come inside his domain.  The underground seemingly lighting up with an unknown glow a second later, but the creature still remained out of sight, only his ashen white arm in view.

Zephyr Arc - Island

Zephyr held his head at the sudden bombardment of questions. However, thanks to the complete lack of hostility, he quickly gathered that this was likely an ally, if nothing else.

"I only got here this morning myself, the villagers called us here. I'm not entirely sure what's going on here, but I'll tell you everything I know." He told it as it kep asking more. He kept an even, friendly but still confused tone as he explained everything from the moment they'd arrived, conveniently skipping over giving Rania the cold shoulder, all the way until this point.

"So these fish-looking guys told us Colm's been dead for months and they're trying to make a new lake spirit. Apparently they hate humans, been attacking us for a while so we've been fighting back." He told it. He naturally made sure to include their mission directive when they'd been dispatched as well as the dearth on information they'd been given.

Oasis – At the island
- Vayu -

It seemed Ludo wasn’t the only one getting emotional. Vayu glanced at Hector, who was growling at the Vodyanik.

He didn’t exactly believe the Vodyanik were telling them the entire truth. They seemed too shifty considering their past behavior. There was more to it.

For now, everyone watched with anticipation as Zephyr reached into the hole in an attempt to retrieve the core.

“Then why did you need the Seer? Or rather his core?” Vayu asked the Vodyanik without taking his eyes off Zephyr.

Scarlet - Island

Scarlet watched as Zephyr, gasping as he held his head. She made a movement as if to go to him, before rounding on the Voldyanik.

"What do you mean, ask the others? Are you not all working together?" Scarlet's voice raised as she spoke, clearly getting angrier. She grabbed the Voldyanik by the neck. "Are you lying to us?!"

Neko glanced at Scarlet, surprised at her outburst of anger. She rested a clawed hand on Scarlet's shoulder, causing the Vanguard to snap out of her anger, glancing back at the demon and letting go of the Voldyanik.