Sorin checked the map he recieved from Cain and flew as fast as his feet could silently carry him south.

He remained off the dirt road and continued moving south along the small river that required their bridge when he came across a small that narrowed into a choke point where he saw what he was looking for. He lowered his silhouette and pushed closer. He checked the wind and noticed a problem if he got any closer. He was upwind and there was a wolf beast woman on Aeons team. He couldn't approach from this angle, but he was in a valley. He withdrew and needed time to think or wait for the wind to change.

After a few hours the wind NEVER changed. It always came from behind him. Sorin got up and began to look around. None of his skills could help him with anything except to give away his position. Then he saw the river and he had an idea.

Sorin went to the edge of the water and began to push his sense out to it. His new and improved skills said he can manipulate water now. He reached with a tendril of his aether and tugged on the aether that made up the water and it reacted as if it had a mind of its own.

With a flex of his will he pulled a ball of water up from it and began to move it around him. He let the water flow back in then had another idea. He ripped a tentacle of water up out of the water and snapped it out to grab a small tree on the side of the bank, but the branch just went right through it. He tried moving the water and make it so there was no give as you feel when wake boarding or knee boarding. There was some resistance, but still didn't work. He sped it up and cut the tree down.

Sorin looked up feeling stupid. Water has been used to cut things for thousands of years he should have known better. "Stupid shiny penny syndrome." He muttered then continued to think through the problem.

How did it work with his fire binding skill? He pressed energy into it enough that the bonds of energy. He wanted to say covalent bonds that have been amplified through more energy pushed into it. Water used the same type of bonds though he thought. What if I push more aether into it and try to super charge those bonds. He pulled a tendril of water back up pushed more aether into it and it immediately went transparent as if it were a clear pool of water with no ripples. It flowed around him and then he lashed out around a small try then Sorin smiled....it held and he ripped it out of the ground.

He was ready to start his plan of attack.

- Team Pallas later that night -

Aeon was feeling extremely confident in his defense and with things in general.

They had diverted the small river and have begun to use it as a barrier for their valley. One of his conscripts the Dwarf he picked had an earth path that he used to set up more barriers to funnel any threats into a killing zone that he fully planned to use with his metal path. He was going to absolutely eviscerate anything that comes through to the point he didn't even need the creatures assigned to him beyond their aether.

He had made sure they understood they didn't speak at all. They spoke to one another one time and he had them beaten to make sure they never did it again. Tools are all they were, but it was fine. After he was done with this exam process he would be returned to proper company and his prize.

Euryale...though she was a gorgon, Aeon liked how she looked. To him she had all the curves in all the right places. He just needed to keep some petrify block on hand while he broke and tamed her. It wouldn't be that much a problem as her house would be so busy fighting to even be able to spend a second rescuing her.

He knew she was hiding something. He figured she got Linx up on his feet and wouldn't be suprised if that rat was at their defense point. However, he was guaranteed by the Oversoul who led the local chapter of assassins that it was a done deal so that troubling human was at least gone.

He was going to be here to finish shoring up the defense here to the point one could easily hold it then leave for Euryale's defense point to ensure her failure.

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The Dwarf waddled up to Aeon and kneeled. Waiting for the command to speak. "What?"

"My lord, the defense is awaiting your inspection and further guidance." The Dwarf said.

Aeon got up and inspected everything over the course of the next ten minutes. Once satisfied, he scouted the area a little bit checking for creatures who could he lurking then went to lay down. Once he rose he would head out to deal with Euryale ensuring her failure.

- a little later -

The Dwarf sat at the defense in the dark listening intently to his surrounds at the sound of the water flowing by with the wolf beast woman.

He had noticed her. She had scars all over her fur which some found distasteful, but to a Dwarf scars were rather pleasing. He wouldn't take her as a tunnel mate, but that didn't mean she wasn't pleasing to look at. He didn't dare speak to her after what that fiend did to them the last time they spoke to their teammates.

*thunk*

The three of them turned at the sound. The dragonkin wind user and the wolf beast woman got up and moved in the direction of the sound. The Dwarf shifted backwards leaning out over the water and that's when it happened. A tendril of water snaked up so fast, wrapping itself around the Dwarf pulling him into the mud where the water was removed then the water flowed back and it covered the drowning dwarf making not a sound to alert the others.

The other two looked around for a moment, sniffing the air for traces of a creature or person lurking about.

They began noticing the water beginning to rise over their diversion trench in a few places. To make sure the ass hole of a lord didn't get pissed at them for perceived laziness they looked for the Dwarf to fix it, but they couldn't find him. They both looked at eachother in alarm.

They knew they should wake the lord, but knew they would be beaten should they be right or wrong there was was threat. They pulled their weapons and waiting listening.

Hours went by of them feeling tense listening to the lord snore. Eventually they whispered as silently as they could to eachorher near the river to hide the whispers. "Perhaps he ran away?" The wolf beastwoman said.

The dragonkin nodded. "It's the only thing that makes sense. He just vanished."

She nodded. "That is what we will tell the lord then."

They began to walk over to their posts to get their supplies when they noticed it was all gone. The pack, the rations, the small shovels, all of it. They felt true panic set in at what the lord would do to them they separated and began to frantically search for the missing gear.

The dragonkin began going down the river seeing if it got washed down stream somehow and that is when his foot felt like it was ripped under him. He had water envelope his his had and was dragged down the river. Until he felt like he was able to get to shore. Coughing and gagging the dragonkin clawed his way to shore heaving.

"I have a score to settle with you." Came a cold angry voice.

The dragonkin looked up and saw a familiar looking human. "You...you're the human from the Lord's rival's team."

There came no answer. With a flash of searing pain a binding was wrapped around the hands and feet of the dragonkin with water across his mouth.

He screamed as it burned, but Sorin flashed swinging his blade reinforced with aether into the upper leg of the dragonkin. All that was heard was a snap and greater screaming followed by a continuous beating lasting several minutes.

The dragonkin lay there every breath excruciating.

"Do you regret beating the fox beastman?" A gurgling laugh escaped the man. "No....he is weak and the weak are always trampled."

With a flick of his wrist Sorin slammed spikes of water through the mans eyes killing him then using the tendrils dragged his body into the water allowing it to drift off before slinking off for the next target.

The wolf woman came back to the middle of their guard position and listened. It was completely silent save for the snoring. She looked around for the other on her team and saw nothing. Something was horribly wrong. The dragonkin she knew had a thing for her and wouldn't have left. She could smell the desire coming off the dragonkin to mate with her and though she didn't want the lizard looking man, she used that to her advantage for extra security. This had her so on guard.

She remained on guard looking over the water her heart beating like a running horses hooves. A sound drew her attention to her left, she took one step that way then came a sharp impact to the base of her skull and everything went black.

Sorin caught the body of the wolf beast woman. It didn't feel good to take the two out like he did, but there comes a time when good men feel forced to do bad things and he was at that point. He transfered her body to a tendril of water and let her flow off into the river.

Sorin briefly considered making a statement by detonating the defenses, but he decided it would be a very rude waking the arrogant idiot. So Sorin decided to let him get his beauty rest before his life became much much harder.

Sorin smiled to himself and slunk back into the trees.

With a brief use of fire aether he flash dried his clothing and re warmed himself then decided to sit and watch.

He dozed briefly then the early morning was shattered by an angry shout.

"Traitorous cowards!!!"

Sorin laughed and began heading back to his own team.