A few days ago, there was the sound of roaring engines from above while a fierce wind whipped the trees. Looking out the window, he was astonished to see none other than his friend's airship hovering meters above his house. A rope ladder was thrown from the door, and one of Shiloh's staff members descended to meet him. He–or she, the fey wasn't very good at distinguishing when it came to the less human-looking ones, greeted him warmly and congratulated him for having the honor of a week-long stay at a famous resort far away in the Highlands. Puzzled, he gave his thanks as he was given a token bearing the resort's name and symbol. All this time he was wondering why the Clephsydra had flown all the way out here, since he hadn't seen Shiloh step out. Voicing his questions, the automaton cheerily stated that she also had a token for a week's worth of time at the same place as well. The way they were implying, he guessed that this meant he and Shiloh would be going together, and he was happy to do so. After running back into the house and throwing together a pack of a week's worth of things, he boarded the airship bound for Canelux.

The trip was short thanks to their skilled navigator, and it was then he learned that Shiloh had more or less been forced into taking a break from work. She was still fretting, but she didn't seem upset that he was coming with her. Having spent time with her, Cymbel had picked up on a few things when it came to understanding Shiloh. Most of the time she was usually annoyed, not angry–though it was easy to see why people would make that mistake. Complaining normally meant so, and only when she was angry would more serious words or silence come forth. Talking with her helped her temper cool down to where she wasn't visibly frowning once the eastern shores of Canelux were in view. Either way, the rest of her staff were more excited for their captain's first official 'vacation' than she was.

They arrived safely and checked in at the front, receiving their rooms without incident. And fortunately for them, they happened to have two rooms side by side available! Cymbel was in a new change of clothes from his usual Ataiyan garb, and when Shiloh was ready they both went to the resort's famed hot springs. He wanted to see the resort's spa area too, but that would be for later. But to his dismay, they were met with a sign stating the hot springs were being closed off. "I'm terribly sorry sir and miss, but Loch Fynn's hot springs are out of order right now." A flaxen haired girl dressed  with the same uniform of the resort staff said apologetically. "But…why? What 's the matter?" He asked, wide-eyed. The girl sighed, but explained to situation to them. "It's disappointing, I know. I've had to tell everybody else who came by here the same thing. For some reason, the thermal source for the hot spring pools has stopped flowing. It was fine yesterday, but after that tremor the water source for the springs was stopped up."

"Oh, I see…Is there a way to fix it?" He asked, hoping she would say yes. Unfortunately the way the girl looked meant that was likely a 'no'. "If I knew, we'd be working on it right now. It really is strange. Everywhere else it seems fine." 

Vinsue could not say away from the window of the ship. She was always on the lookout for threats expesuly when on the oppen water in human form. "Relax mom were on vacation not on a job or anywhere near a place they would be." Aqua said as she left her hand on Vinsue' s shoulder. Vinsue simply looked at her. "I might if it was not the fact we helped the spa get stuff from our friend and in doings so got a free weeks stay there." She stated as she returned to looking out the window. 

They both knew now that one of the girls they saved was the only child the owner of Lock Fynn resort and that though they first tried to reject the offer they both found themselves on the way to there resort. The mountains now came into view witch set them both into motion. They gathered there stuff and made there way to the open air above deck.

They agreed that the hot springs would be there first stop against aqua's fear of water because mom was there and it would help them both relax. This was all the stuff they discussed on there way up the stairs and through the check in. Unpacking in the room took little time. Finding the springs on the other hand took a long time and they arrived as the bad news was delivered.

Both where disappointed but did not complain. Aqua was quick to step behind her mom as she recognized the one from the skyship and the spider acid burn. She still did not like the god. Vinsue on the other hand had finally recognized an old friend of hers. Cymbals new stile of clothing had made it hard to recognize him but as soon as she did she was glad to see him. She was going to say hi but was quick to pick up on aquas discomfort and desided to go back to the room.

"Oh Morticia, Look!" It was a lovely day for a flight, and as always, Ryerles accompanied the pixie. She was intent on finding a way to fix her friend who seems very different from who she usually is. Where was that playful, prankster Ryerles loved so much? Morticia looked in the indicated direction and saw a sprawling resort looking establishment. "Wouldn't it be fun to play some harmless pranks on some of the patrons? What do you say? Or, we can just rest our wings there. Whichever."

"Pranks or relaxation… Is that all you think of, Rye? Alright. Might as well check it out since we're here." There was no question of the cost of anything or how to get in as no one tended to notice small creatures overhead. One thing Morticia learned long ago is that a lot of the population spend more time looking at their feet than the sky, making things all that much easier for her. While flying over, scouting the area, Morticia head the words "hot springs", causing her to pause.

Her heart suddenly yearned. "Mort?" Ryerles whispered. The pixie shook her head and swooped in to land on the ground, a fair distance away from the people talking about the springs. Of course, the succubus was freaking out. "Are you crazy? Do you want to be squashed?" "Let's see if I can remember how to do this…" Morticia concentrated until her form began to shimmer and grow.

Looking at a window, her reflection faintly stared at her. Long, beautiful white hair, lavender eyes, high cheekbones, fair skin and lightly pointed ears giving away her fae blood, but no wings. The sight brought tears to her eyes. How long has it been since anyone had even seen this face? Even her dress was the typical sleeveless black, almost inappropriately short dress was the same. As usual, she was bare footed. Ryerles hovered, jaw dropped and staring. With a small smile, Morticia lifted her hand and signaled for Tenebrae.

With her pseudo-wyvern curled around one arm, clinging to her as if he was claiming her, and Ryerles on her shoulder, the delicate woman, standing only at five foot six approached the growing crowd. Morticia arrived in time to hear something about tremors stopping the flow of the water source. Her bubble of hope burst, everything shattering around her as her fragile hold on her own mental state was utterly destroyed. A couple also approached but said nothing, yet Morticia's disappointment was written so clearly on her face as she looked at the pair who had been talking to the staff member.

"The springs are truly closed?" Her musical, bell-like voice sounded pathetically small. The pixie went to take a step forward, as if to take a peak behind the apologetic worker. Yet, it had been over thirty years since she had assumed this form, and thus the pixie was now unaccustomed to traveling wingless. This resulted in her stumbling forward, practically into the arms of strangers, her winged companions taking flight and hovering above.

Seeing the new arrival, the employee nodded again. "Yes, it is. We're working on finding the problem but…well the source is in a bit of a difficult to reach area." Shiloh crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto her left leg before pressing the blonde woman for more details. "And where is this spring source? I'm sure a team of able-bodied folk could get the thing clear even if it was stopped up in no time. So what's the problem?" Cymbel tugged at her arm to remind her not to be so intimidating, and she rubbed her eyes to adjust her gaze out of her initial harsh glare. "Please forgive us for prying, but we were wondering if there was any way we could help. Right? Ah–!" He looked at his friend, before noticing a woman stumble from behind. Before he could even move, Shiloh already had her arm stretched out to catch the new arrival from tumbling to the ground. The deity then carefully moved the entire woman upright like a carpenter moving a horizontal wooden beam vertical. There was a brief moment of an awkward silence as the brunette haired woman resumed standing as if nothing had happened. 

Hoping to break up the stiff atmosphere, Cymbel brought up the last topic they had been on. "Ah…so about the hot spring source?" The blonde employee's attention came back again and she resumed explaining to the three of them. "Oh–right! Yes, well you see the spring's source happens to be in a small copse of old trees up on that hillock there." She pointed towards a peak which was not quite as tall as a mountain, but high enough that its elevation was noticeable. "In the past years, strange rumors began to fly when a hiking group was attacked by a tall, wraith-like being with a deer's skull for a head. I've never seen it myself thankfully, but ever since then that neck of the woods is said to be haunted by a monster called 'The Lord of the Forest'. At first we all thought it was silly, some joke to scare tourists off. But when we sent one of our workers to inspect the spring's source months ago, he…" The woman paused, and swallowed hard. "…He didn't come back." 

"Did you investigate with a larger group then?" Shiloh asked. He was thinking the same thing, but let her handle the questioning. Knowing how his friend's mind worked, he was sure she mentally solved half of the problem already. The woman nodded to her question. "Yes, that we did. We even brought the hunting hounds to find him. And we did, but he was found strung up on the trees, looking like he had been broken. And then, it got worse. At one point, we couldn't even enter the woods there. It was like some sort of power was forcing us back." It truly was a strange chain of events. The fey himself couldn't wrap his mind around it. "I see…perhaps we could go up there with another party, but with a few sorcerers and–" "No." His train of thought was interjected by Shiloh, who was already resting her chin on her hand, propping it up with her other arm. Confused, he looked to her. "But–" "I mean, not right now. We should ask some more people about things to get a better scope of the situation." The rogue explained, giving more detail to her rather brusque reply.

Turning to the white-haired woman with elfin ears, he realized he had forgotten to ask how she fared before getting swept up in the local rumors. "Oh, I'm sorry. Are you alright? You nearly fell a while ago. Are you hurt anywhere?" His main concern was a twisted ankle, a fairly common injury for an accidental misstep. 

Vinsues plan of going to the room was never carried out and forgotten of when the reason for the springs not running was stated. Finding some deer faced goon and stopping it was more of her idea of fun. Vinsue looked at aqua with the request in her eyes. “we are on vacation.” aqua said only to give up and mentally take notes on body languages and words knowing she would likely need to recite it later. Vinsue was not one to argue with and she knew it. Keeping note of one person was a breeze. Two was what she was use to but three was a challenge. As soon as subjects switched to the pointed eared girl and her state of health. Aqua did not seem to notice or care but looked at the scaled creature on her arm. Aqua looked at it than her mom before holding her hand out. Vinsue looked at the hand and summoned some dried meat in it. Aqua smiled as she stepped closer to the creature and held out her hand. Aqua loved animals especially ones that look somewhat like her true form. “hello there. Can i pet your wyvern?” she reached out her hand with the food a bit closer to the adorable little creature. Vinsue on the other hand thought of the problem. “think you could use a couple sets of extra hands to get the springs working again?” She could not see why aqua was so shy a few minutes ago but now seems just fine around the same group of people. She would need to ask later but for now left it as it was for now. As if aqua knew her mother's thoughts she moved a step to the side away from the woman. “what is its name? I bet a cute boy like him has a really nice name. Does he speak?” aqua started but stopped and looked at Vinsue as she interrupted “Aqua relax on the questions not everyone is so open to them.” aqua frowned before looking back at the wyvern and reached to pet it if it allowed. She did not like commands but knew Vinsue usually had a good point when she did so.

An arm arrested her free fall, then carefully stood up as if she were naught but a stand-up doll. Even for her size increase, Morticia had once been told she still didn't weight all that much. Must be the lightness of her bones as a pixie, a hollowness to them, or so they had guess. The fae blinked awkwardly as everything returned to how it was a moment ago. Her attention turned toward the direction the employee pointed as Ryerles and Tenebrae assumed their places upon Morticia. "Mort, what are we doing here? Are you okay? Don't tell me that you're planning on checking out that hillock up there!" Ryerles was whispering in her ear.

The pixie's imagination raced with the description. It was unlike anything she had heard of, and knowing- Morticia shook her head violently. 'I will not think of it. I will not think of it… He'd investigate it.' Her head hung low as she was torn between memory and the interrogation before her. When all was said and done, a voice directed at her to pull her from the past, Morticia looked up at the gentleman with a startled expression. Ryerles turned to whisper conspiratorially in Morticia's ear, yet taking in his appearance for the first time, Morticia was floored.

"You're fae?" She was primarily going upon the fact that his eyes were a beautiful blue she had not seen in most humans, and their hair was near identical. Granted, this wasn't her original color. Before she learned this form, Morticia was stuck with brown hair. The day she performed it for him, it's been this silvery white ever since. Her lavender eyes were always the same, however. "Sorry… I'm fine, thank you. It's just… I'm not used to being without wings." It didn't help that this form always had her a little clumsy… Until she got pregnant. While she managed not to burst into tears, they welled up under her eyes, threatening to burst forth, to melt the pixie into an emotional wreck. This was the primary reason for being at the springs.

"Hmm? Oh… sure." The question brought to her by the pale skinned younger one took her off guard. Quickly, Morticia wiped her tears, ignoring the questioning Ryerles was giving her while Tenebrae stretched his neck to sniff at the food before nibbling at it. "I may not look capable, but I can offer my assistance as well." She really wanted to look at the waters, sit by the edge. A desire to take a soak wasn't present, which was odd as that is what most people come here for. Once again, the younger one began asking more questions, causing a small smile to play on her lips. "His name is Tenebrae, but he does not speak He is quite intelligent and can follow complex commands." Tenebrae pressed his head into Aqua's outstretched hand. "Seems he likes you. I'm Morticia, and my friend on my shoulder is Ryerles."

"Trust me, Mort, I'm not accustomed to this at all. I don't like your shoulder… Though it is nice not to fly all the time." Morticia couldn't help but chuckle. "Trust me, my friend, I know all about riding on the shoulders of a friend." It was how she traveled with… him. More tears sprang to her eyes, and Morticia gently wiped one away, trying hard not to dwell on the past.

The woman Shiloh had helped earlier seemed taken aback by him, somehow. When she said the first thing that came to mind, it was then his turn to be surprised. "You're fae?" She asked him. "What? I–y-yes!" He stammered, completely caught off guard. "Was it that obvious? Oh…I suppose I do stand out quite a bit, don't I?" A bit embarrassed, he was half-temped to revert back to his usual glamour spell out of habit. Without it, he felt…exposed. Since Shiloh was here, he felt a bit less self-conscious than usual and with her help he had gotten more comfortable going about without it on. As he tried hard to keep his face from going red, he listened to the fae woman reassure him that she was alright. It had been a while since he had met another of the fair folk, let alone a complete stranger. Cymbel was getting a bit ahead of himself, showing excitement at the woman mentioning wings.

"Ah, are you by chance a winged fae? That makes us different from each other then. My…ancestors and I were not born with wings." There was a moment of hesitation as he almost mentioned his brothers, and stopped to correct himself. It had been years since he had left, but he still couldn't completely omit them from his memory. The memories of that cold and heartless house, where he spent years without hope or happiness under scrutinizing eyes that were never pleased with what he did. But things were different now. The past was just that–the past. He was no longer under his father's thumb, or the object of his brothers' scorn. The two women who had initially prepared to leave came back, and the younger of the two took an interest in the small wyvern the fae lady had on her shoulder. Seeing the little creature reminded him of Shiloh's pet wyvern, which she had brought back after the aftermath of the sudden cold snap in Ignius. Shiloh kept quiet during the conversation, looking elsewhere to appear occupied. But he knew that it was her way of giving him a sense of privacy. She had said to him several times that she wasn't good with people, even when he tried to convince her otherwise. 

With nothing else to ask the resort employee, he politely bowed out as he and Shiloh prepared to return to the resort. "Thank you miss for informing us. Please don't be to hard on yourself, sometimes strange and unexpected things happen. Even though the hot springs aren't operational at the moment, the service here is exceptional!" It made the blonde woman smile a little, and her worried face brightened up a little after hearing that. "Thank you sir, again we're very sorry for the inconvenience." When the pale-skinned woman with white hair asked if she would like their assistance to help get the thermal source working, the staff member paled at the offer. "Oh–please, there's no need for that! I couldn't ask for our guests to do menial work!" It appeared she was more terrified than simply being polite, however. Shiloh took note of that reaction, but said nothing. "Besides, we already have someone searching for an alternative source through dowsing. There's an old hermit who would come by every few moons or so, and if there were any problems they'd normally be resolved quickly once he was present. He hasn't stopped by lately however… Maybe he hasn't passed by Loch Fynn yet? He always said he traveled by the moons' light."

Another person who was part of this place's history was mentioned. It was hard to get a clear picture of the situation, with so many unrelated incidents all together. Shiloh was crossing her arms frowning again, analyzing it all. With another polite bow, Cymbel and his friend began heading back. "It really is strange." The rogue mumbled. "Yes, isn't it? I hope things are resolved soon. I admit I was feeling chills run down my back at the description of that 'Lord of the Forest' which haunts the woods." The fey said as they made their way to the spa. "Hey, why are we going this way? This isn't the dining area." Shiloh gave a furrowed look of confusion. "Oh, I thought we could take a look at the resort's spa. We've both never been to one before, so I thought it would be more fun if we went together."

The rogue scratched the back of her ear and looked to the side. "I don't know… Isn't this where they put mud on people's faces and stick slices of melon or something on their eyelids? I'll just hang around the sauna, if they have one." Sensing her discomfort, he held onto her arm as she was trying to sidle back towards the rooms. "The spa treatments, I presume? You could ask for them to leave that out if you don't like it. I've never seen those either, but why not at least give some of their treatments a try? I heard they have staff members trained in giving massage therapy. You're always on the road working, so perhaps it could relive some stress?" Though she was hesitant, he managed to succeed in convincing her to agree to the massage therapy session. He himself wanted to try the aromatherapy baths, which weren't too far away from the massage tables.

Back… and forth… Back… and forth… Each motion being a monotonous grind against the floor as the crimson-haired girl with bandaged arms pushed and pulled the handle to a scrubber across the floor, humming a small, catchy tune she caught from the bards on her journey here. It was not unusual to pick up odd jobs for her as she traveled, but it was when it came to bigger businesses like this. At the very least, she was able to strike a bit of a business deal with the owner. She worked changing shifts, and she would get partial pay and free stay for the week. Handy for them, considering they stated their time for business was about to pick up soon.

Still, they had to give her one of the biggest jobs their work place had: cleaning staff for the spa and hot springs. "It works out pretty well," she remembered the owner saying, "While we are looking for a solution, this will give us the perfect chance to ensure that the area will be nice and clean for when it opens up once more. Make sure you get it done by moon-rise, though. The place loves to get busy at night!" The last bit of words, though, faded into the back of her mind as she brushed the sweat off her brow and looked around. There was but a simple wall and door blocking the actual hot springs where the guests could lounge about before they reached the actual spa area, where three sauna rooms were housed next to each other with a massage parlor right nearby and mud masks nearby. It was a place that did not shy away too much from the comforts of mixed genders, though it did house some spaces for those who did feel nervous exposing themselves in front of the other.

The center sauna door opened up as Jesgil stepped out, brushing her forehead as she told herself, "Now to let that one dry before I worry about touching up the tougher spots." Though before she was about to get ready to clean the third room, her ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. Probably other guests who wanted in early. Still, she could not let them in while she was doing her job. Would make things even harder. With her fingers skimming her hair behind an ear, she double checked to ensure they were not ridging out too sharply before stepping through the dressing room to meet with the approaching guests.

"Hello, sir and madams," Jesgil greeted with a bright smile on her face. "I am sorry to say, but this is the day of the week where we have to close off the spa for cleaning. I am sorry, but we will make sure it will be ready for you after the dinner services."

The pixie nodded ascent. "Yes, and I'm about yae tall." She lifted her hand and gave an estimated height between her forefinger and thumb before pointing at the succubus on her shoulder. "Actually, I'm about an inch shorter than Ryerles." Of course, the mentioned succubus was laughing her head off. "No you're not! look at you!" Morticia playfully glared at Ryerles as best as she could. "Watch it, succubus. I'll smack you off that shoulder." Was this how he felt as she joked on his shoulder? Though, he'd usually laugh along with her.

Everyone left, leaving Morticia alone with her friends. Crossing her arms, the pixie looked after them, contemplating her next course of action. "Mort… Do the hot springs mean that much for you? Let's help them. A couple of six inch girls could do a it better than lumbering six feet tall people." She had half a mind to lecture Ryerles on the grace of most some, in particular the fae that walked off with that woman, though she had something different about her as well. Her husband, on the other hand… Clumsy… Wiping away at another tear, Morticia softly padded after them.

Fact number one, the hot spring was closed, though they wouldn't say exactly what was wrong. Two being that people have been disappearing where the source comes from. Three has an old hermit having not shown up yet since. There has to be a connection, and Morticia was having difficulties stringing it all together. "Go see what you can hear." Still absorbed in her thoughts, Morticia only paused long enough to watch Ryerles spread her demonesque wings and take flight. Everyone looks around them, searching for possible eavesdroppers when gossiping. They never look up.

Unfortunately, trying to wrap her mind around this mystery, Morticia bumped into someone. Apologizing profusely, she realized it was the two from earlier. Peeking around and looking at another employee, the pixie smiled softly. "Can't catch a break, can you? Everything seems to be closed." Straightening herself, Morticia made a big show of pacing back and forth, her hand on her chin as she tried to puzzle it out. "So, people are missing, presumably dead. This hermit hasn't stopped by yet, and the hot springs are closed due to a problem at the source. There are rumors of a terrible looking beast."

Stopping in her tracks, she flashed a mischievous smile at the fae and his female friend. "Do you want someone to check out that area? I already have Ryerles listening for information." There was a small commotion from behind, someone screaming and cursing. Curious, the pixie turned and burst into laughter. Ryerles was gripping some brown hair as she flew straight for them, the woman it was attached to chasing after her to keep her hair from being pulled. Practically making her stumble to their feet, Ryerles crossed her arms as she hovered there. "This one was talking about something. Tell them."

The woman began to gripe how it was none of their business when Morticia interrupted. "I'm terribly sorry for my friend's actions, but if you would be so kind as to tell us what you were talking about? It's very important if you want the hot springs back." "Not that I think it's any of your business, but okay. It happened about a month and a half ago. Randal likes to go up to those trees everyone says the spring's source is, for fun, you see. He said he saw something weird. Old Man Amos had been performing a ritual, but not anything he's ever done before. It freaked Randal out, and he booked it. Ever since, the springs have been closed. That's all I know, I swear!"

"Hello, sir and madams. I am sorry to say, but this is the day of the week where we have to close off the spa for cleaning. I am sorry, but we will make sure it will be ready for you after the dinner services." Cymbel's renewed hopes were dashed again by yet another unforeseen development. "W-what?" Confusion was in his voice, as the disappointment had yet to set in. "So that means, the spa is closed until evening?" His spirits sank and he hung his head. Shiloh patted him on the shoulder, trying to make him feel better. "Don't worry about it. We still have six more days here, so there's no rush." "You're right…But I wanted to see everything at least once before we leave." He sighed. If Shiloh wasn't too upset over it, then perhaps he was just overreacting. Right away, Shiloh was quick to take advantage of any opportunity to glean more information.

"By the way, do you know if anything happened before the tremors?" She asked the woman who was cleaning the spa. "Any strange weather, unusual arrivals–that sort of thing?" He was wondering why she didn't ask about the hermit who was well-known around these parts, but it was likely she was being thorough. Maybe she wanted to test how much the maid knew before asking more in-depth. It was hard to tell what Shiloh was thinking in times like these. She herself had mentioned that she had a hard time in noisy places, because so much was flooding into her senses at once. Her analogy was like being in a crowded room where people were all talking at once, but having that same feeling all the time. Yet it was that same hypersensitivity that allowed her to notice things the fey would have missed. 

"We were just informed that the hot springs were closed, so we wanted to know if there was any way we could help." He added, trying to soften his friend's interrogative questioning. Even though he couldn't assist in picking up those minuscule details, he could smooth over their interactions. Somewhere behind, he heard some people talking but kept the majority of his focus on the maid they were speaking with. A few of those voices sounded familiar, and he was sure Shiloh would be moving on to them next. He picked up a few words nonetheless. Something about a person named 'Amos' and a ritual of some sort?