Elowen couldn't stay put. The big house, albeit nice, was just too empty with both Randal and Edgest gone to investigate the strange hallucinations and chaos that Adeline had fallen into. Just thinking about the mage being out there where everyone was going insane and becoming violent made the Dryad physically ill. Tending to her plants didn't help, especially since they were running low on good soil. Magical nature powers or not, her flowers needed the proper soil to thrive. They were beginning to wilt, and so was she. Wen sighed in frustration at the empty rooms, a headache pounding in the back of her skull. The only person who had visited lately was the kind old housekeeper, and even she hadn't been up in a few days.

Sometimes, she would go down to Edgest's room and wait at the door, just to see if he'd return. She desperately wanted information on how the academy was handling things, and if Randal was okay, but the wraith never showed. Perhaps that was a good sign? More likely a bad sign, if the mage needed his power that much.

To ease her mind for a little while, Wen donned her cloak and boots and left the house. Heading for Adeluna, she counted off the things she needed to do. Buy soil and more seeds, some ingredients for when Randal comes home, more books… The loud sounds of patrons at a bar pulled her attention away. Something inside of her clicked, and soon she was in the tavern, part of the crowd. This was what she needed. Lots and lots of noise and alcohol. Had she ordered a drink? There was a mug in front of her, so she must have. One, two, five, she lost count after a while. Despite her happiness and laughter with the other people, there was a sense of dread looming in her thoughts, but she couldn't focus enough to figure out why. Her throat burned, but she ignored that too. She was lost in the crowd and drinking.

The endless nights had finally gotten to him, not being able to sleep due to the non-stop screaming of being so close to the tower echoing through the heads day and night, it had even led a few expert mages to commit suicide or murder others in the end through sheer willpower they had finally escaped back out the reach of the nightmares and had the massive castle in their vision. However, the only strange thing about the experience is that he had not been able to summon Edgest or even use his mana pool worrying that he was left without protection from this plague set across the realm the young mage had quickly travelled homewards barging through the busy streets as people fought in a drunken haze and even people lying dead with food covered faces, this simply caused him to worry more thinking about her newfound taste for food had reacted to Wen.

When he finally reached the house he was breathing heavy yet to find the halls empty apart from an old lady rocking back and forwards glowing a light blue causing Randal to smile to himself leaning up against the wall "I should have guessed he would protect you first" Randal chuckled as ghostly voiced spoke "Brat, took you long enough and of course I would protect one of my own however the only thing stopping the hunger inside you is your mana so act quickly" the boy laughed at Edgest's comment before standing to the door as the old maid spoke weakly "She…was heading to the market" as she viscously reached for a half ate box of chocolates screaming to be let go.

He followed the maid's instructions suddenly noticing a growing headache and a limp to his step, to his belief the tower had caused this like so many other forces of evil, its when he saw the tavern with shouting patrons and screaming songs pouring out the tavern by the time he got to the door he didnt know what is feet were doing barging through the doors to find the target of his journey, the small Dryad with tankards scattered around her, Randal quickly barged through the crowd earning a few shoves and elbows as he fell into the seat next to her, "Wenny, hey you need to stop drinking its just magic doing all this" the thumping in his head grew louder as he saw a mug infront of him filled with delicious beverage "Oh god Im not gonna be able to do this" he sloppily drew a symbol for curing hoppily lessening the affects on Elowen breaking his own and causing him to dive at the drink downing it quickly "I watched men if this isnt a reason to get hammered, Then when is it!" he cheered along with the crowd merrily chugging along with a light tang in the back of his head still trying to force himself to stop drinking.

After a while of drinking and spending all of the money she had brought with her on mugs of ale, Elowen had lost track of time and completely forgotten about anything outside of the tavern. Her throat burned and part of her still wanted to stop, but it was drowned out by the empty craving taking root in her stomach. Just when all of her self-control was almost entirely gone, someone called her name. Her golden eyes drifted over to the seat next to her. Although her vision was blurred and unfocused, Wen could make out the shape of Randal's face and features. The sight of him nearly snapped her out of the drunken haze, but it was when he drew the symbol that she finally took note of her surroundings.

At first, she was terrified and confused as to how she ended up in the tavern. As her memory flooded back, however, she realized that they needed to leave and go home as soon as possible. She fearfully returned her gaze to Randal and saw that he was beginning to fall victim to the sickness taking over Adeluna. In an attempt to block out the temptation of the ale, Wen quickly shut her eyes and gripped the mage's sleeve, using her magic to search for anything she could use to lead them out. There was a small tree planted outside the entrance of the tavern, and it would have to do. Keeping her senses locked on the tree's aura, the Dryad forcefully pulled Randal out of his seat, shoving her way through the rowdy crowd.

Her height and small physique made pushing through the crowd nearly impossible, especially with Randal's much taller figure dragging along behind her. Trying to get him to help her out, she shouted firmly, "Randal Hex, if we don't leave now, we will die!" Although she was only saying it to force the mage to move faster, Wen only then realized just how true the statement was. If they remained in this tavern, even in Adeluna, they were going to die just like all of those other people who succumbed to the deadly temptation. The throbbing headache returned to the base of her skull, and she had extreme difficulty keeping her eyes shut, so much so that she had to stop moving just to catch her breath. "We'll die…" she kept mumbling as a motivation to continue onwards, but every step sent a painful jolt through her head.

The buzz inside his stomach felt strangely good even as he got dragged through the crowd by a gorgeous woman taking a few elbows to sore areas after all the riding he had just done it took a long time to notice what the female was saying under her breath which seemed to make a sleeping part of his brain alive, "What…Whats going on?" he finally took in his surroundings horrified in what he saw, ghosts screaming and feeding on each other's energy it caused him to quickly throw up whatever was left in his stomach resulting in his eyes burning, it wasn't long before he saw it the mutated beast that was once human feasting on an unknown torso.

It all came back to him the week of riding to the god forbidden tower, all the information they had gathered and all the damn deaths he had to witness what effecting this city wasn't just a natural plague it was caused the two worse deities in his books and now gluttony had spread all over his families city, all the memories Randal had bubbled to the surface as his eyes grew blue and frost etched from his eyes, "I don't have Edgest" the young mage stated standing up facing Elowen cleaning his mouth and kissing the top of her head "Run home my little dyrad" allowing himself a small smile before gathering the attention of the beast.

Was it some hidden willpower that was voiding the plague's effect, of course not without the Wraith Randal was a simple man he could feel his legs tremble under its weight and the sweaty grip upon his staff put a smile on his face, it caused him to chuckle at the monster in front of him as he rose his hand firing a weak at its skin barely frosting it but enough for it to lumber round the words escaped his mouth like an echo "I'm a glutton for punishment" the young mage faced the once human almost speaking to its souless face "I mean each bit of frost on my skin burns like heated needles, everytime my mana empties it cries out, so why not just hurt myself to protect someone?" as he was talking he rose an ice wall just enough time to stop the brunt of the attack but still being thrown back into a lantern post with a grunt before quickly throwing himself onto its back being thrown around like a ragdoll.

"What…?" Elowen responded warily, opening one eye just in time to see Randal confront a disgustingly deformed monster, subsequently getting himself thrown back into a lamppost. "Randal!" she screamed, her skin paling as he jumped onto the monster's back, being thrown around without care. She was not sure if it was fear or adrenaline that kicked in at that moment, but her mind was suddenly focused solely on the beast. Mostly, she thought, it was anger that kept her from giving in to gluttony, though it still tugged at the back of her mind. Reaching a hand into her bag, she felt a few seeds jostling around near the bottom. Wen pulled them out and saw that they were mostly nightshade and ivy, and the Dryad had an interesting idea. 

Sprinting towards the two locked in battle, she swiftly dove underneath the beast's legs, spreading the seeds through the  cracks in the tavern's wooden floorboards. Wen jumped out from beneath its legs, silently praying that her plan would succeed. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she yelled, "Jump off!" Then, with no further warning, she stretched out a hand, feeling the seeds bury themselves in the ground, just before a wealth of enormous vines covered in nightshade erupted from beneath the floor. The… thing let out a wild screech of pain, almost causing the Dryad to hesitate. No matter what it had become due to the effects of the tower, it was once human. Her moment of reluctance caused the monster to be able to snap through a few of the vines, but she quickly regained control.

As the vines twisted and coiled around the creature's body, Wen carefully began walking towards the door, eyes hastily darting around for the mage so that they could leave.

Has he heard the Dryad shout he leapt of the beast sliding a few feet on the ground before sitting up holding his ribcage allowing himself a few seconds to breath and glance at the destruction that the creature had caused before trying to stand up. However half way up he felt the familiar twang of pain he was so used to back in the academy when he was younger, perhaps this is what he needed to survive the gluttony the pain seemed to dull the ache to drink or eat and even though it pained him to do so the mage limped his way towards Wen grabbing her hand with his free one before pulling her into a kiss "First, that was very danegrous" Randal flicked her nose with a frown which then quickly turned into a grin "Second, that was amazing I didnt know you could do that!" with his comments done he quickly dragged her into one of the street's side alley to allow them to cover from the large mutated people roaming the streets for prey.

Its at this moment a large worm-like creature exploded through a wall blindly sniffing the area due to having no eyes, it didn't take long for the mage to realise that the beast was too quick to escape so he wrapped an arm around the Dryad and tried to stay still watching the creature rear up to attack before quickly being frozen solid and shattering in front of them, "How….What?" thinking a mage from the academy had saved them before the cloaked person took down their hood to reveal an elven girl with platinum hair and bright blue eyes as she bowed furiously at Randal "Master Hex Im so so so sorry for being so late, Edgest sent me to retrieve you if you had been hurt" the girl seemed to gush out words before the Mage rose a hand "Rosalina, please you must stop thinking your ancestor as a god, he's just a grouchy old ghost" he chuckled before wincing at the pain "So what's the plan you two?" looking at Wen while Rosa seemed to try and dust off Randal's clothes and panic about being late.

Elowen stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms. "Don't try to lecture me about safety after the stunt you pulled!" Her skin flushed a deeper green at his compliment, but nonchalantly waved it away. "I didn't know I could do that either, but I guess I can," she explained, though she made a mental note to look into that particular ability once they returned home. The Dryad willingly followed him into the alley, ignoring the gruesome beasts that now roamed the streets. Their brief moment of respite was interrupted by yet another attack, but this time, she didn't have nearly enough seeds to bring the writhing worm down, and she was sure that Randal had exhausted most of his energy during the fight.

Just as all hope seemed lost, out came Rosalina. A smile spread across Wen's face at the sight of the elf, and she could not help the sigh of relief that escaped her. "You're a lifesaver, Rosa," she thanked gratefully, stepping forward to lean against Randal. Her expression turned quizzical at the mage's question. "Making plans is usually your job, love," she stated, just as a deafening screech sounded from the street. She reached her hands up to cover her ears, waiting for the ringing to stop echoing through her head. Once she came back up, she raised her golden eyes to the others. "We should probably start with finding a way out of the city."

Still holding his ribs he looked at the sewer grate with a huge grin "Rosa, remember when we were younger and escaped the bullies " the elf girl giggled and replied quickly "We stunk for days but at least they didn't pull my ears" she flicked one with a smile before helping Randal with the grate before he jogged back over to Elowen with a small smile "Its gonna smell, but I once read a book about the undead in the city, the hero used the sewers due to less being down there, it might be a big risk but its really our only choice" before wrapping an arm round her and diving down the hole.

The landing shook his body in pain causing him to inhale quickly seeing that the images of ghost had also spread down here, people of all ages floating around through walls and doorways as he got back up Rosaline quickly ran over helping him "Dont worry Master Hex, I can handle the spell this time" raising her hand the beam of light curved down the hall leaving a light glow from the embers in the air causing the mage to turn his head back to the Dryad "Rosa here is a first generation Elf, meaning she has a stronger connection to her mana and skills, some people research towards the idea that Human kind evovled from Elves instead of monkeys" before taking off down the tunnel with sewage sploshing leaving the two girls behind him slightly allowing the maid to talk "Its a pleasure to meet you Miss Hex" she smiled lightly while clenching her fists tightly for a unknown reason before saying "Im sorry I havent been at the house since I was doing my great ancestor a deed of gathering this" she pulled out a locket opening to show a faded image of Edgest and a young girl that resembled the old maid, "Thats my Grandmother's Mother and Edgest's Daughter" she giggled "A Family that Randal was meant to join" before she took off walking faster.

Elowen smiled warmly as she saw Rosa and Randal interacting. She knew how the mage felt about his past, and it was nice to see that there was still something from it that made him happy. As he wrapped his arm around her, she quirked an eyebrow up at him. "Love, do you honestly think I'm going to be bothered by the smell?" she asked teasingly, holding onto him as they leaped into the sewer. The landing wasn't quite as rough for her due to her lithe frame and Randal's support, though Wen did give the elf a questioning glance when she seemed solely focused on him. But, after all, they had known each other far longer than she had known either of them, so it was only natural for them to have such a strong bond.

The Dryad peeked at the locket with interest, barely catching on to Rosa's rising tension. "It is such a pleasure to meet you, Rosa," she replied, beaming at her. "Randal has told me a lot about you. Please, call me Wen." Her attempt at friendliness, however, did not seem to be quite as effective as she'd hoped, given the elf couldn't get away from them fast enough. Concern passed over her face, and Elowen glanced worriedly up at Randal. "Is she okay? I think I've upset her in some way…" Wen whispered, staring ahead at the elf's back. Meanwhile, a low growl came from somewhere in the streets above them, and the ground shook beneath their feet. Whatever creature had formed, it was sure to have done plenty of damage and harmed many people. The thought of it caused sorrow to wash over her, so Wen went silent and kept her head down, determined to continue forward.

He looked back slowing down to be beside her reaching down to entwine his fingers with hers then giving her a reasurring smile "Imagine a female verison of Edgest, I dont know why but its like every person I brung home she would be cold or silent against she attacked a girl with a celery, I didnt even have time to say we just needed to practice some spells" Randal chuckled oblivious of the death stare Rosa was giving the couple and as the ground shook Randal frowned before kneeling down to Wen's height "If that thing up there finds us I want you to run, I cant risk losing you and Rosa and then my plan is to slow it down to the point I can escape as well" stroking her cheek with his thumb the mage felt the temperture of the small tunnel start to rise as he heard a faint echo behind him.

"Am I not strong enough for you!?" Rosa roughly ran her fingers through her neat hair causing it to collapse over her eye leaving the other one to be bloodshot filled with tears, leaving him to ask in shock "Rosa, are you okay?" seemingly at the question it caused the young elf to start laughing "I can get stronger, Edgest should have chosen me! but I was so happy when he chose you too because this way it would be okay for me to love you!" Randal went to explain that he didn't understand holding tightly to Elowen before Rosa cut back in bluntly "But it was always another girl, whores all of them you couldn't see I was perfect so I made myself better, beyond even you!" as the glint of a blande rushed across her palm causing blood to meld with the water and the spirits surrounding her to quickly fade away and a shroud of red to enlope her while she bared her teeth "And thats why me and Liyen will just take you for our own!"

"Li…Liyen?" Randal managed to stutter narrowly pulling Wen away from a stream of fire that seemed to emit from her bare hands without needing a glyph to summon as the mage looked at the dryad in fear "We need to get back to the house now, and the topside is much safer than being in the tunnel with her…him" pushing her up the ladder on the streets the mutants seemed deterred to chase after them once seeing the burning inferno explode from the small manhole as Randal gasped for breath he explained "Liyen is the one thing Edgest said to run from, apparently a Wraith he and another host meant long ago had the ability to force the want for power and to overpower emotions, more like a demon than anything".