Having grown up in a fishing village, Torn's swimming was actually quite good. He held his breath for a while as he followed Keira into the deep, but as soon as he saw her take a breath, he did the same - and found he breathed the water as though it was air. He grinned, and turned around, yelling to the misfits. "It's fine, lads, I really can breathe this water!" Not waiting for his companions to cath up, Torn swam down, savouring the sights.

As he reached the civilized, urbanized area of the lake with Keira, he was immediately swarmed by mermaids who wanted to drag him to various places, to either show him the sights, or show him the sights. Torn looked at Keira, who seemed to be getting the attention of local mermen, and cocked an eyebrow. he excused himself to the mermaids (who complained audibly) and swam over to Keira, poking her on the shoulder.

"One thing I've been wondering, Keira. About us. So far, we've been… Enjoying ourselves, but… What are your thoughts on fidelity? The thing we have going, do you want it to be exclusive?" His facial expression was one of curiosity more than anything - in truth, Torn hadn't thought much about the exclusiveness about the relationship, and he didn't care all that much either way - they would both be able to find other partners should they so desire, but at the same time, their alone time - sexual and otherwise - was highly enjoyable, and Torn didn't mind if they kept it to themselves.

"I don't care much either way," he said, "but I enjoy your company more than enough to justify an exclusive relationship." Looking at the merfolk settlement, he gave a sigh. "So which would you prefer? Open season, or exclusive enjoyment?"

Keira had grown up in a forest. She went on the hunt several times with her father even as a pup with her twin. The memories were peaceful and she even remembered splashing around in the water with Ynnarah, though she couldn’t say she ever got practice swimming in a human body. She missed her family in that way, her pack was her home, but so was Sularia. Someday she would visit, but at that moment she was where she felt like she needed to be.

Still mesmerized by the water and enchantment, Torn caught her off guard. She visibly jumped the best she could in the water. It was the question she had been dreading and it showed on her face as she tried to answer. She wanted to tell him that she was glad he asked. Bringing her hand up she stroked his cheek and gave him a smile before kissing him softly. “I do… but for now, what kind of lover would I be if I didn’t give you the chance to fool around with some mermaids.” It was a once in a lifetime chance for him. “Go have fun.”

There was a part of her that wanted to keep him to herself but there was the other side that generally did feel that way. Who was she to tie him down? “I want the exclusive enjoyment but I also don’t want to hold you back from this place.” A cradled his face and gave him a sad smile. Another kiss to his forehead and she was back to being cheery, “Besides like I said, this is a once in a life time thing. I would rather you have stories to tell than worry about my feelings.” Not that she was entirely sure if he was or not. "I'll be around the town looking at things. It will give me time to study the architecture around here and probably the trinkets as well. I also want to try and understand the enchantments on the water, but I know that stuff probably doesn't interest you."

Upon Keira giving Torn her reply, Torn grinned and leaned in to give Keira a kiss. "Thanks. I'll go do my own kind of exploring as well," he said, "maybe pick up some rumours that can lead us to our next adventure." He swam off, but turned around after a few meters. "Hey, Keira," he said, smiling. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't care. I won't make a habit of it, I promise." He then swam off to find something exciting.

After a few minutes of swimming, he came across a mermaid with a rather impressive bosom, eating something out of a seashell. The woman was beautiful - beyond just the breasts - and so Torn decided to give it a go. "Hello, there, miss," he said, with his most charming smile. The woman looked at at him, then down at him, and smirked. "Why hello there, stranger. What brings you to this part of the world?" Torn took that as an invitation, and swam closer. "Looking for glorious things to remember," he said, putting his hand at the back of the woman's fin. The woman smirked at him. "Such as?" Torn shrugged nonchalantly. "Exotic experiences, for example." He trailed his hand up, looking the mermaid in the eyes. "May I?" The mermaid chuckled, and led his hand to her chest. "You may."

Three hours later, Torn left the woman's apartment, quite satisfied. The experience had been exotic and exctiting to be sure, and the spark was clearly there, but it didn't light the lingering fire he so enjoyed feeling after a night with Keira. And so, Torn had left her there, which left the woman a little disappointed. That's when another Misfit, with two mermaids in tow, swam up to Torn with a grin. "Lady gave ya' a hall pas, eh, Torn?" Torn looked up at the man with a grin. "I see you found yourself some company as well, Halfdan," he replied. "Aye," the man replied, "and they had some interesting news. Apparently, one of the rivers that flow into this lake is plagued by a hydra, an' the locals have issued a bounty on the fucker." Torn perked an eyebrow, then smirked. "Sounds like the next leg of our journey," he said. "We'll gather up tonight. For now, I have to look for Keira." The man nodded. "Aye, you do that. I'll take these two beautiful women an' show them how we fuck in the Northlands," he said, grinning, with a girl giggling on each of his arms.

It took a further half hour for Torn to find Keira, in what was, in truth, a rather expansive underwater city. However, when he finally did see her, he swam up behind her, and introduced himself by getting re-acquainted with her chest. "Hello there, gorgeous," he said. "My curiosity have been sated, and now I return to you," he said, kissing her neck. In a more serious tone, he slid his hands down to her belly and held around her, his chin resting on her shoulder. "And I think I will always do that, as long as you welcome me back." He gave her belly a subconcious caress. "And I think I've found our next adventure."

A soft smile came across her lips as she returned his kiss. His grin was contagious as she watched him “Have fun.” She waved him off and was about to leave her spot when he caught her off guard. “I know.” Maybe it wasn’t the best response to him giving his heart but she was still so unsure and cautious.

Swimming deep into the brightly lit city she ignored the mer men and some of the females as she found things that interested her. She was more content with just Torn than the feeling she had to go out and find someone else. Picking up an enchanted tome she flipped through it. The pages glowed with a number of spells. Obviously the glow was for dark areas and under water. “I’ve never seen many people come down here looking for tomes.” The voice caught her off guard as she visibly jumped. Her dainty feet scraping across the bottom of the lake.

Turning around she seen a mer man with dark, dark hair and scales. Her head tilted to the side a bit. “I’m just with the men who came down earlier. My goal is to explore and research, not to fuck.” Her explanation was simple but then her mind went to Torn and a  blush came to her face. 

“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard that in a long while. Take the book, it might be of use to you.” The man gave her a smile and Keira could tell by the look in his eyes that he was much older than his body showed.

“Don’t you want payment?” Keira was wondering what his angle was. People just didn’t give things like the book out for free.

“We trade down here Miss. You’ve given me a good laugh.” It was a tad insulting as she closed the book and held it close to her chest.

“Well… thank you.” She turned from him, on her heel against the bottom of the lake, and swam away easily. She found a resting spot near what appeared to be the center of the town. She sat down near some coral, weird that it had been there but she shrugged, and read more of it for the remaining time she had, or felt she had.

Getting restless she got up walked about the town more. Finally when Torn showed up, he about scared the shit right out of her. Taking a few deep  breaths she began to laugh. She leaned her head into his as he kissed her neck and smiled a bit more. “I missed you,” the words were weird for her but they were quiet leaving her lips so only he could hear. He wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled up to him. Turning her head so her green eyes could watch him. “I would always welcome you back as long as you continue to be here with me.” She took a hand from the book and put it on his.

“Oh?” She turned in his arms and kissed his lips softly. “What is our new adventure?” The book stayed between them and she let out a chuckle. “I got this. It’s a spell book of sorts.” Looking up at him for a moment she gave him a smile. “I’ll read it to you later if you’d like, or demonstrate.” She rubbed her nose against him and laughed before kissing him.

“Later, baby,” Torn replied after Keira kissed him. “For now, there’s a reward on a hydra living upstream in one of the rivers that flows into the lake,” he said, wrapping his arms around Keira and pulling her closer. “I’ve spread the word that we’ll meet up back at camp at dusk.” He leant in and gave Keira a kiss, his right hand trailing upwards, caressing Keira’s side before cradling her breast. “Which, come to think of it, is still a few hours away… So what do you say, hm?” He pulled her even closer, grinning mischievously. “Want to learn what can be done underwater..?”
 
It took a few minutes for Torn to find a suitably secluded spot. Eventually, however, he found a kelp forest, with a soft, spongy seabed, and hauled Keira along with him into it. There, he went about to business of showing Keira exactly how imaginative sex could be underwater – his earlier experience with the mermaid having provided him with more than a few pointers. Four hours passed in that forest, and six times did Torn manage to ride. After the final session, Torn was floating exhaustedly around, and would have sweated most hideously had they not been underwater. Torn and Keira were wrapped around each other, floating around the forest, still ‘connected’. Torn caught his breath, kissed Keira’s cheek, and whispered in her ear. “That was fantastic, Keira… Absolutely fantastic.” Torn did not quite know why, but the last time had felt special, as if their lovemaking this time had been more monumental than other times. Torn wondered if this meant he was well and truly falling in love with Keira, or perhaps if it meant it was important in some other way. He quickly shook the feeling, however, and with a gentle kiss, he separated himself from Keira. “Come on, baby. The guys will be waiting.”
 
The rendezvous with the rest of the Misfits proceeded pretty much as expected. While Torn tried to keep the guys on the topic of the hydra, the men insisted on sharing stories about mermaids, positions, and other things, almost all revolving around sex. Torn, on his end, elected not to share any details, neither about Keira or the mermaid he’d slept with, out of respect for his lover. It took a full two hours to calm the men down and get them on topic. “Alright, guys. The hydra we’re hunting makes its home upstream in the eastern river. It’s been harassing fishermen and has killed a number of merfolk. There’s a bounty on it, and I say we claim it!” To this, the men cheered, and the forest momentarily shook with their voices. Once the warcry died down, Torn continued. “We all know how this works. Sever a head, and two more will form. Break open their skulls and spill the brains, that way we can kill the heads without getting new ones to contend with.” Torn looked at Keira with a smile. “Or so the rosenite says, and I’m willing to trust her on that,” he said. He turned back to the Misfits. “It fought a skirmish with merfolk scouts today, and it’s bound to be tired. But we’re not, are we!?” The Misfits cheered again, raising their fists in eager anticipation. “Kit up, boys, we’re going monster hunting!” And so, the misfits – and Torn – began fetching their equipment and preparing for the hunt.

“A hydra? That’s really dangerous Torn.” She appeared concerned for him but only for a moment as she got pulled closer to him. It calmed her down as he kissed her and she chuckled as he caressed her body. “Always, you know I love to learn new things.”

Torn was always so good at finding spots of all kinds, this list now included secluded spots. He had basically tugged her along even though she was more than willing to go along with him. She was becoming less and less afraid of what giving into her feelings would do. Torn did not seem like he was going anywhere and she liked that. It felt good on an emotional level to finally have someone who cared. 

He had certainly showed his stamina and willingness to go all out for her. A laugh left her lips as she held him close and kissed his cheek in return. “You can say that again. Gods I’ve never felt anything like that before,” she winked at him, giving him an obvious compliment. The underwater scenery had helped and in a way it was also romantic. Feeling the gentle kiss, she felt all the angst of the problems that could have been melt away, and she returned it just as gentle before giving a smile. “Aw, suppose we should not keep them waiting for long.”

When they had finally met up with the Merry Misfits she laughed as they shared stories. She also did not kiss and tell about her time with Torn and was honestly glad he did not go into detail about his time with the mermaids. For whatever reason, she just did not want to know even though she had told him to go do it. It made her feel smug and happy at the same time. She took Torn’s hand as they attempted to calm the men down, her fingers caressing his lightly as they waited. Two hours came and went and finally they managed to get the men on track.

“It’s more than just bashing their brains out,” Keira suddenly turned serious. “Hydras can have any number of heads to begin with and we don’t know how many the merfolk had cut off to begin with. Prepare for a long and hard battle. In order to stop the heads from spawning we’re going to have to cut off the heads and sear their flesh before they can regenerate. I’ll assist with my magic on that front. The very last head is the problem. We’re going to need to lure the hydra to a place where we can bury the final head and make sure that it cannot under any circumstances get to its body. So what we're going to have to do is most likely split up. One team as the diversion and bringing it to the other. The other team will work on digging a big enough hole to bury the bastard in. Just like how you would bury a snapping turtle if the snapping turtle was gigantic and trying to flame your balls off. From there we can begin to start attacking full force. Try to get off as many heads as possible quickly, don't worry about the searing as I can do that quickly.”

Taking a deep breath as Torn told them to go get their equipment she got dressed and looked at her blade long and hard. “It will still be a hard fight.” Something felt odd about going into the fight. Something was warning her to be extra careful. She shook her head as if knocking back the absurd notion that she could not do this. She very well could and she was going to, so why did she feel so guilty about it?

She looked at Torn and leaned into him, putting her head into his chest she took a sigh and was softly speaking up to him, “I’m nervous and I’m not usual that way.” Was it the thought of losing him when they were just starting to get closer? It didn’t feel like it was that way. What was fate getting at? "Also I sound like my damn mother when she is throwing out her battle plans." Keira laughed a bit more and felt less uneasy as she thought of her strong mother.

Torn grinned down at Keira, himself quite confident. “There’s nothing to worry about,” he said, “and I think you’re pretty damned sexy when you take charge like that…” He winked at her, and gave her a quick kiss, before grabbing his weapons.
 
Most of the Misfits were ready at that point, and Torn looked to the guys, grinning. “We set out, determined to increase our renown and prove ourselves worthy to enter the annals of history once more,” he said, which roused a mighty cheer from the Band. Torn rose his spear in the air, its bronze point glinting with the light reflected off the lake, giving it a cold, unforgiving look. “And fate has seen fit to throw a hydra in our path! Despair not, my friends, for fire is with us, the fires of magic and the burning ambition in our hearts!” Another reverberating cheer was summoned from the lungs of the Misfits. “We march! For fame and fortune!” Torn took point, and set a steady, firm pace for the Misfits to follow, leading the war party into the forest.
 
The terrain in that particular part of the woods was more difficult to manoeuvre than Torn originally anticipated. However, the presence of the hydra had scared away other magical beings, meaning that as long as the forest’s fruits remained untouched, there were no distractions that could derail the Band’s progress. Torn was loathe to hug the banks of the river, for he knew hydras were hunters, and he was not over fond of the idea of the beast suddenly jumping the party from the water. This made it difficult to track, but since the hydra would never stray too far from the river, it was fairly easy to keep an eye out for the marks of the beast’s corrosive breath. A full three more hours did the party spend searching, until finally, a large shadow could be glimpsed beneath the lazy waves of the slow-moving river.
 
Torn held up a hand to signal the group to halt. His voice was soft, so as not to stir the hydra from the waves before the attack could be organized. “Alright, people. We need to draw the beast downstream, until we get to more shallow water. The rapids will make it harder for the beast to move, and eliminate its ability to dive. Spears upstream, to jab and harass the beast. Axes on the flanks, ready to strike. Swords furthest downstream, to stave off the monster and take most of its attention. Let’s do this right.” The men nodded, and Torn looked at Keira to see if she was ready. A hole had been dug by some of the larger men, further downstream, in case it was needed, but Torn had decided on a more skirmish-like tactic until less than four heads remained. And now, it was time for the fight to commence.
 
Torn took a deep breath, and did his best to mimic a cow. The imitation was surprisingly accurate, and as predicted, it roused the hydra from its slumber. Keeping a thick tree between himself and the hydra, Torn kept making that sounds until it finally sprang up, launching a head blindly in Torn’s general direction. The beast rammed its skull straight into the trunk of the tree, swaying from the impact, and torn yelled. “Fame! Fortune! Know no fear!”
 
The forest immediately came alive with the warcries of determined warriors, and the hydra was immediately assaulted by a series of vicious jabs coming from upstream. As predicted, it tried to move away to get a clearer shot, only to be surrounded by swords and axes. The bravest axemen jumped onto the hydra and began hacking away at its necks, further confusing and enraging the beast. The swordsmen took the brunt of the monster’s wrath, forcing them to dive behind cover as its corrosive breath sprayed the forest, eating bed and canopy alike. In the confusion, Torn picked out a head, and charged, piercing one of the head’s eyes with his spear, causing fluids to spill out of the hydra’s eye socket. The monster reared, and immediately sprayed towards Torn – but with one eye taken, it failed to correctly judge the distance, and overshot Torn by a good three meters – and whatever droplets Torn was hit by, were immediately washed away by a spray of river water. “The eyes, boys! If you can take one, do it! It messes with its accuracy!” The men cheered, and immediately began aiming for the eyes whenever a head got close.
 
As the fight slowly moved downstream, the party managed to harass the hydra without taking any fatalities, though three Misfits had been thrown or hit by the monster’s legs or tail, leaving them injured and unable to fight. Many of the heads were now either half-blind or completely robbed of sight, so Torn figured it was about time to move in and begin the bloody work of severing heads. “Okay, boys, go for it! Spears, make it hurt! Swords and axes, get ready!” The spearmen in the rear, who had remained on the edges of the fight up until that point, charged in, stabbing the beast in its necks, rump, and legs. Predictably, many of the heads took to the air howling in pain. Torn threw his spear up under the jaw of one head, making it twitch back and forth, and drew his sword. One brave axeman threw himself unto that self-same neck, and swung his axe, biting hard into the spine of the creature. With the bones severed, Torn swung his blade, and with an effort of will, the head came tumbling down into the water. “Keira, NOW!” he yelled, and dove aside to give Keira a clear shot.

The halfling gave him a blush and kiss. “I’m only doing what’s necessary like my mother would.” A laugh left her lips as she went through her bag pulling out a completely red sword. It was sheathed and the sheath was ornate with many roses. It had been her brother’s when he was living and her mother’s after that. She just happened to come across it. Taking the sheath off the blade she stared into the lava red blade, it hosted her reflection almost like she was on fire.

Quickly she followed Torn through the forest and her eyes were peering about as if she was about to miss something. The scent of the water hit her nose and it was her first time ever smelling the flesh of a hydra like this. They were nothing like the Arriese Hydra that roamed the plains back home. 

Keira gripped her blade and she felt the magic spark the air. The blade was responding to her. It was telling her not to be so scared and all she could do was stare at it. Was Costel with her? She never got to know her brother as she was born years after he had died. Finally Torn gave orders and quite the speech before the battle would begin. Magic sparked the air again as a warning but she was confused as to what.

It was the corrsive breath that it had been warning to and Keira was too late to dive, however, she had dealt with the many Arriese back home. She had seen her mother deal with mighty hydras as if it was a contest. All because of that blade. She whipped it as magic sparked across the area. Mighty salamander flames shot through the air. The breath was burned back protecting the princess. It was Costel.

A spark came to her eye as she knew that her mother’s magic ran deep within her blood. The sword began to have it’s own heat pattern. It distorted the air around it with heat waves. Still it did not burn it’s owner. She was worthy of it like all of her blood before her. Keira focused on keeping those who needed it safe while they tended their injuries. She couldn’t go into the fray of the battle and hope to be ready when Torn needed her most.

The sword flickered with mighty magic as it waited. It was much like a cat waiting to play with its prey. The fierce force of the weapon scared Keira, no wonder her mother held onto it. The blade was busy using its flaming tongue to lick the air. It knew its target and she knew that she had been ready as well. The sword would be the extension of herself. 

When Torn called for her she unleashed the pent up rage the sword had from being away from it’s true master. It had the roar of a dragon as the flames took the shape of it’s original master’s soul, a dragon’s head. The heat was as intense as the lava of Apoy as she held onto the sword. The magic began to burn at her hands but still she did not let go as she ran and jumped onto the hydra itself. Fire left her lips as she seared the flesh of two more spots as the Misfits claimed victory.

Still as she fell back to ground she dropped the sword and looked at her burnt hands. The sword was still pulsing as it lit the ground beneath it on fire. Still she was alert as her eyes tore back up to the hydra. “I can still sear without it.” She called up to Torn. She had been mistaken to even try and control the full power of her mother’s blade.

Torn backed off as Keira began the work of searing the flesh of the hydra, taking the brief respite as a chance to catch his breath and observe the beast’s movements. As it lost a number of its heads in rapid succession, torn decided it was about time to prepare for the plan to come to full fruition. He saw Keira drop her blade, frowning. “We’ll need some time to lead the bastard downstream,” he called back to her, separated as they were by the beast’s thrashing. He ran to the head he had severed and retrieved his spear once the beast was out of range, and helped the rest drive it further downstream.

Bringing the hydra to the place it needed to be took a good hour to accomplish, and both the monster and the men were beginning to feel the effect of fatigue. Once Torn spotted the two lookouts, who’d been left behind to ensure the hole they dug hadn’t been filled, Torn cried out to the rest of the Misfits. “Here we go, boys! The hole is close, and the beast is just as exhausted as we are! Move in for the kill!” The forest once again came alive with cheers and warcries, as the spearmen encircled the Hydra in waist-deep waters, keeping it in place. Torn positioned himself dead in front of the monster, taking most of its attention. “Hey, uglies! Down here!”

The monster reared and attacked, but each head had lost one or both eyes, so Torn managed to dodge one attack and intercept the next with his spear, whereas the final head missed completely. “That’s right - come at me, stretch your necks out…” The monster happily obliged, striking at Torn once more. In the deep water, Torn could no longer navigate as well as before, and while he managed to check one attack with his spear, the other strike caught him in the shield, and Torn was knocked beneath the surface of the river.

With bubbles all around him and the pain of impact blurring his senses, Torn found himself unable to tell which way was up when he was knocked under. After a second, however, his senses recovered well enough to at least locate the beast - the splashing of its legs was unmistakable. Torn kicked, and launched himself away from the creature, just in time to avoid three heads smashing into the water and biting furiously. One more moment, and I would have been lunch, he thought, and swam for a few more meters before resurfacing - just in time to see four misfits cut of two of the hydra’s heads, leaving only a single, blind head thrashing about in the water.

Torn tried to cry out and cheer, but the blow from before had left him rather winded. His cry came out a dry rasp, barely reaching the people in his immediate vicinity. “Come on! It is blind and weakened!” Just as he said it, however, the hydra lurched its head high in the air and sprayed, covering its surroundings in its corrosive breath. The Misfits dove, getting into the water to protect themselves from the spray, and the hydra began thrashing like crazy. Three times did the bravest Misfits try to close in on the head, and three times did the hydra knock them beneath the waves. Torn looked around him, gritting his teeth. “Keep it occupied!” he cried, his voice more far-reaching this time.

Torn found a nearby tree, a mighty oak, and tucked his spear into its sheath on his back. And then he began climbing, slowly making his way up the tree’s limbs, until finally he was high enough. He carefully stepped out on one of the tree’s thicker branches, drawing his spear and using it to help balance himself. Luckily, one of the Misfits saw what was happening, and rallied the spearmen to drive the Hydra towards the bank where the oak was located. When the Hydra was finally beneath him, Torn threw his spear from his vantage point, biting into the creature’s flank. Believing the attack happened in a mêlée, the hydra turned around and snapped - and in that instant, Torn lept from his branch, drew his sword, and landed on the neck, hacking away like a crazy person. With each soft chock of steel against flesh, there was another shriek, and Torn was close to getting thrown several times - but he held on somehow, and finally bit through the hydra’s spine. “Ready!” He screamed, and raised his sword. The steel glinted with the first rays of dawn, and as he brought it down, the hydra’s last head fell.

Keira was still trying to heal from her wounds. At least she was trying to deal with them. Taking a deep breath she managed to keep up with the misfits and Torn as they worked. Her green eyes were showing signs of being tired as the fire magic left her lips. The air was still sparking with fierce magic from the flame sword. 

The blonde tried to keep up with her group as she ran along the edge. Her eyes bounced from the Misfits to Torn and finally she spotted Torn doing something new. Recognizing what he was up to she positioned herself just in time. His words reached her ears as she let loose a flame making sure he was out of the way first. However, with this last head Keira stood between the hydra body and final head.

The Misfits gathered about and Keira looked to the injuried ones. “I will try to heal you but I’m just so tired.” She lifted her hands up to spark the healing magic but a light green sparked from her fingertips and fizzled. She was so tired as she panted. “I’m out of mana.”

She looked to Torn before assessing the heads. “Looks like six in all. One of them had been cut off originally looking at the body. That must have been from the fight with the merfolk.” Keira pushed her blonde curls back before sighing. “Let’s get this done with. We need to work on our wounded quickly after this.” Another harsh breath left her lips again as she looked her burnt hands. “I’m going to have to do something with this as well.”

Taking off her shirt, leaving her corset, Keira wrapped it around the hilt of the fire blade. “I pushed it too far.” She growled at herself with anger. She sheath it and put it to her hip.