The beginning

"No, sir... It's just blurry." She looked down, rubbing her eye.

Tira sniffed the air as her stomach growled. She sighed quietly and looked around at the human standing obediently nearby.
"Come, dinner. Let's go prepare you. I'm starving." She tightened the grip on the hilt of the sword she held, a giant chunk of razor sharp steel. Barely having to concentrate, she phased the blade back into a small dagger.
"Yes, my master..." the middle-aged man replied, dazed. He followed suit after her as she exited the roof through a nearby cave-in.

"You should fear the demons in Hades, rebuilding the kingdom. If Athen is here, he's not the king," Anna looked around frantic. "If they come, I'm not sticking around!"

Kallias looked at Five, worrying lines forming on his forehead. "If we don't hurry, the smell of demon blood will bring even stronger demons here."

Zander crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the girl. "You're a miser," he replied dully. "You should be happy any sort of demon would arise." He shook his head, not believing a word she said. A small part of him held on to her words, however.

Five nodded, beginning to run. "Damn it, the doctor's still with Zander." He cursed. "We might have to do this ourselves."

"From what I know," Anna hissed, "Your people were the ones that killed each other during the war. What did I do to get called a demon. You don't know what a demon is."

Kallias nodded and began to run alongside Five. "I smelled Hades in the city. A Miser from the south was there. They must know Athen was summoned. What will happen now?"

"I wouldn't doubt they were following." Five threw back his knife. It stuck hard into the cement and glinted. "That will stop them from going passed there." The knife slowly released a gas from the blade the spread and disappeared. "I think our friends can hold off anything following them."

The make shift hospital was empty when the men arrived. Kallias helped Five lay Athen on the bed and turned to Seth. "How is your eye, halfling?"

Zander frowned at the girl. "I wasn't in the war, Miser. Looks like both of us could use a little bit of knowledge on the other." He knelt down in front of her. "What makes you different than a demon? Do you not eat humans?" He asked out of curiosity, no hint of maliciousness in his voice.

"Misers don't have to eat humans. Only evil ones do." Anna crossed her arms. "We're not all evil. We're born in darkness, so we can be, but some of us aren't always. When we fight, we are, but that's just instinct. It's the Misers in Hades that eat living flesh. Latent Misers just hide."

Zander tilted his head, his arms resting on the weapon on his knees. "If you don't eat humans, what is it you live off of?"

"Donuts!" Anna said cheerfully. "And animal meat."

Zander raised an eyebrow. Regular food? "Why are you afraid of the evil Misers? What do they have planned?"

"They plan to bring the Dark Lord back," she said. She sniffed the air. "I smell sulfur and city."

India struggled to stand. "Excuse me... I just need to go to the hospital..." she mumbled as she hugged herself.

Zander frowned, not smelling anything. He looked up as the doctor spoke. "You going to be able to make it?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes, and I'd rather go there," she said, rubbing her arms.

Zander scrutinized her a few moments longer before calling a soldier over. "Escort the doctor to the hospital," he told him. The soldier nodded and stood at the ready near India.

Ezekiel started to walk faster, leading them to around where he'd originally been by the market place. He jumped as he turned a corner and called out to Zander whom he spotted a little bit away. "Zander!" He waved an arm, trying to catch his attention.

India started walking away, following the directions of the soldier. Once she made it to the hospital, she walked to the office. The lights were flickering and the walls were crumbled near the ceiling. She smiled to herself, feeling at home again. "This is what I'm used to," she said to a very young nurse.

Cala looked up at the man, spreading her fingers slightly to see out of. Still blurry, she thought dreadfully. She was afraid to uncover it, afraid that if it had changed, Soren would turn her away, or worse, turn on her.

"Halfling?" Seth shook his head and clawed at his eye. "I'm not a halfling. What the hell is a halfling?" He threw his gas mask off, exposing his young face. "What is going on?"

Zander squinted his eyes through the fog-like dust hovering around them. He noticed Ezekiel leading a couple of other people towards him. "Hey, kid. What's going on?" He replied.