Fatigue and exhaustion from burning through his magic with rapid casts in succession were taking their toll. Auron was feeling worse than when he had spent an entire night drinking at one of the best establishments in Mamlak. He was relieved to see Drake still capable of moving, and he helped pin the squirming body down when his own magic blade was giving out. The severed head of the woman was babbling and screeching at the top of her voice. "I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU!!!" That calm and self-satisfied attitude was replaced with insane rage. Her blood was pooling around her body, and finally light broke over the horizon. Just when hope was about to give out, the woman's head gave a blood-curdling scream. Rage gave way to incoherent shrieking as her body tried to get away, to escape into the fading darkness. 

When morning finally arrived, something even more shocking than everything they had seen tonight happened. As soon as daylight touched the headless body, the skin began to crack its flesh began to crumble. In a matter of seconds, that nigh-invulnerable body of hers was rapidly turning into dust! "NO NO NO NO!!! I'M NOT READY TO GO! I'M NOT READY TO–" With fear in her eyes, sunlight fell upon her head as it broke apart. Even her own blood soon vaporized in the rays of the sun. The heady stench of her bewitched blood dissipated as the dawn of a new day cleansed the ground where they had almost died. 

A peaceful silence washed over the streets of Endapano as the horrors of the night had ended. Coughing, Auron pushed himself to his feet. Using what little magic he still had left, he changed his appearance to match the elven guise he had worn before. It was better if he didn't give Drake any reason to suspect him, now that the danger was over. "I never thought…that I'd be so happy to see the sun." The traces of the battle were almost gone, and he limped over to where Drake was. Picking up his own dagger from the disintegrating ash, he collected any other belongings that were Drake's or his before helping Drake up with difficulty. "Come on…can't let them see us at the scene like this." All that was left was the remains of the she-demon's tattered clothing. By the time people were awake, he had moved any remaining evidence elsewhere.

After resting, he mustered the power to teleport him and Drake back to their room. Letting go of the partially-transformed man, he fell onto the bed with a wheeze. Physical labor was not something he was used to. When he could breathe again, he downed the drink he had been saving in one go and passed out.

It was far too dark for Drake's liking.  Everything felt immeasurably too heavy.  He tried to lift his arms, move his legs, stretch his wings.  Oh.  That's right.  Wings.  I have those now.  His eyes slowly drifted open, meeting the afternoon sun from the room they had rented.  Afternoon?  His heart skipped a beat, and he bolted up.  Immediately, he regretted the decision, as the room started to spin, his vision distorted.  He swallowed hard, resisting the urge to empty what little contents remained in his stomach.

Everything was starting to hurt, which was a good sign.  He wasn't dead.  Caranthir must have brought them back into the room.  He glanced over to see the elf passed out on the other bed.  Well…we're both alive.  That's a plus…  He groaned, pulling himself to the edge of the bed.  He went to hold his head in his hands, only to realize they were still covered in slick black scales.  Dragon scales.  He closed his eyes, and with immense concentration, his arms shifted back to their human form.  Now…the wings…  

Nothing.

I must not have the stamina…  He tried to stand up, and immediately fell over.  Strike that.  Definitely don't have the stamina.  He pulled himself back onto the bed, and leaned against the wall, still in a sitting position.  His eyes drifted shut again, threatening sleep.  No.  No wait.  Not yet…  His eyes sprung open.  That's right.  What happened to that….that thing?

He could hear hurried steps and voices, but no real panic.  By now they would have found the room, torn to pieces and partially burned.  But past that…would there be anything else?  Would they know to question Drake and Caranthir?

"Oi…Caranthir.  Wake up…"  Drake said, his voice rasping.  "What happened?"

Auron heard something, or someone call out and shake him. He frowned, and tried to return to his sleep when they disturbed him again. Grumbling, he reluctantly turned over to face whoever was bothering him. "A few more minutes…" Seeing it was Drake, he quickly pulled himself together despite his tiredness. "Hm? Oh…what is it? What time is it now?" He covered his mouth as a yawn escaped. Sitting up he took a few moments to process what was being asked of him. "She's gone…a pile of ashes now." Yawning again he rubbed his eyes as he shook the sleep from his eyelids. Now less drowsy, he saw Drake was seriously concerned about what had happened the night before. Clearing his throat, he decided to give him a little peace of mind.

"She's dead–whatever she was. You probably missed it all, but we were very lucky. After you stabbed her, she started screaming bloody murder. I thought it was from the pain, but then the sun came out." Giving a pause for dramatic flair, and to cover another yawn, he then continued. "Anyways, you won't believe what happened next. As soon as morning came, her body started breaking and falling apart like cheap clay. Her blood even evaporated too when the sun shone on it. I can't wrap my head around it. Before you woke up, I cleaned up anything that was left over. The most they'll know is that a customer walked out without a word, and somebody tried to kidnap one of their staff." 

The tension that rake felt eased.  Oh, good.  That's good…  He let out a deep sigh of relief, and let out a small chuckle.  "So…whatever it was, it was weak to the sunlight.  We really lucked out on that one."  He closed his eyes again, leaning his head against the wooden wall.  "Well.  All is well, then," he uttered.  "Though, we should probably leave, just as well.  After last night, I'd rather not stay here again."  He smiled. 

"Ya know, that's probably the worst fight I've ever been in.  I'm not even sure how we survived, to be honest."  Drake opened his eyes, and looked down at his hands, remembering how they had changed.  "It was pure chance that I discovered how to do this, and that I was able to push myself this far."  He looked back to the elf.  "In a weird way, I guess I should say thanks for helping me improve.  Even it was a near death experience for the both of us."  He laughed, "Though, I'd honestly rather not do anything like that again…"  He closed his eyes again, yawning.

"Say…Caranthir.  What ever happened to the carriage driver?"

He gave a weary smile, but he was scowling at the turn of events underneath. If a certain someone had told him that this might involve a life-or-death situation, he would have planned things better. "Yes, now I look on it that seemed to be it's fatal weakness. But it was still nearly impervious to everything else otherwise." Sighing, he was ready to resume his sleep. "Agreed…my work here is done, fortunately. I personally hope to never encounter anything like last night ever again. Oh, though I suppose having it help you was a good thing." Drake luckily was oblivious to the fact that Auron had only thought of him as a distraction for that creature back when they were trying to stay alive. Just as his eyelids were growing heavy, Drake asked him another question. "What ever happened to the carriage driver?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? I didn't get a good look at the man before he drove off. Hopefully he's sleeping the night off in a ditch somewhere." Most likely he was dead, by Auron's assumptions. The woman had left her room after calling room service, and who knew what she had done before they fought her off? He was too tired to give the other man insight into his own thoughts. Once he was feeling less exhausted, he'd take the first airship out of here. Unbeknownst to Drake, Auron had kept the tattered garment that belonged to the she-demon. That acquaintance of his would probably find some use for it, and maybe it would be enough to get her to tell him about why she had sent him on this job. "A few more minutes…then I'll have to force myself to take an airship out." Rolling over, he drifted off to sleep.

Waking up a few hours later, he checked that there was still daylight. Taking out a quill and tearing out a page from a small blank book he had in his belongings, he penned a letter to leave for Drake before leaving without him. Closing the door, he checked out of The White Stag and disappeared into the streets. Soon he was looking down at the elven kingdom from behind a window of glass, watching as the buildings of the city grew smaller with each passing moment. With a new disguise and pseudonym, he was heading back towards Iria. From there he'd take a short trip back to meet up with the one who gave him this request and get some answers.

The note he left behind for Drake was in clear and florid handwriting.

'I am sorry to leave without a word, but I've some urgent business to attend to. Thank you for helping me fulfill what should have been an impossible task, and for having faith in me. I unintentionally dragged you into this mess, so it should be fair that I at least pay you for your troubles. Hopefully we'll meet under better terms! Though it might be just as unlikely for us to cross paths again. Oh and a word of advice, don't keep all your coin in an easily noticeable pouch. You'll get robbed in Vilpamolan if you go out like that.' 

The note was unsigned, but it was easy to guess who the author was. Underneath his hand was a small sum of silver, as if someone had moved him while he wasn't aware and hid the money there. The other bed was already made, and the elf he knew as Caranthir was gone.