The Chosen [IC / Not Accepting / PG-16]

[Doggo 218]

Reinaan had passed out somewhere along the line. From his position he'd still managed to absorb his portion of the boss soul and felt the activation of the Demon Gate as Keres destroyed it. But lifting his head to actually observe these events was beyond him. When next the boy woke his wounds had been tended to so far as they could be for the time being. Though brief the sleep had somewhat restored his stamina. He was bandaged up where there bone shards had pierced his flesh, by who he didn't know. At the least moving didn't send pain coursing through the wounds. Ziiyol was happy to see her partner awake and she had been keeping close watch over him. Kloqah too wasn't far off. With the gate gone she had calmed to her usual temperament though perhaps with a touch of annoyance on her face over her smaller lizard's injuries. Despite the fire spirit's objections the draken eventually pushed himself to stand. A touch of panic set in as he looked to his left arm. He couldn't much feel it and almost thought for a moment it was missing. It was still very much there but was missing scales and skin with the exterior pretty thorouHeygh charred from what he could see under the bandages surrounding it.

"Really did a number on myself there huh..." he pondered aloud before his attention was caught by Ryia who called for the group's attention. There seemed to be some opening into the rock formation they had fought the elemental on. The auran must have made his residence here right underneath the gate he gave his life to preserve. Among the objects and scrolls one thing stood out. A glowing orb that seemed to carry with it some of the intensity of the desert sky. Ryia began a thought which clicked in the boy's head. "This must belong to the village! The thing that'll stop the endless day..." Reinaan said while recalling conversations with the elder. Returning it was the obvious decision as the Earth Chosen said.

Reinaan eventually made his way back outside as the group gathered up what they would from among the auran's things. He took note of the two non-bandage items on his body. The mostly cracked magic amulet about his neck and the fire resistant ring Ryia had given him just prior to his clash with the elemental. The amulet he removed and placed into his bag that was resting atop Kloqah's back. Once Ryia emerged from the rocks he approached her to return it.

"Hey, thanks for loaning this to me and stuff. It sure came in handy." he said with a grin as he extended his hand, palm-up with the ring in it for her to take back. 

[LordCowCow 839]

While the others examined the various items Keres was looking through the writing. So intent on it was she that the others would find it hard to get her attention. Even when they were going to leave. Once they got her attention she stuffed some more of the papers into her bag and stood to go. Hesitating as she looked at the orb she simply nodded. "It must be the one."

As they got back to the top of the rock formation, out of the mage's hovel, they saw Damien sitting up with his sword across his lap. "I have a killer headache." He said. "But looks like the deed is done." He noticed the orb. "Oh, another deed, convenient." With a grunt he stood up. "Time to get going yeah?"

---

It was a rough time back. They had to keep an eye on Gilly as they went. She still hadn't woken up for more than moments. From what Keres and Anis could tell she had gotten some kind of sickness inside of her during the fight. However neither of them seemed capable of fixing it and, if Lindow tried, he'd only get a massive headache until he backed away.

They would eventually reach the city again. The moment they approached the gate it swung open as though they were waiting for them. It wasn't long before they entered that the elder and a pair of young men, wielding some of the leftover weapons, made their way towards them.

He gave a curious look towards Damien but then said to the group. "You return. Is your...task, complete?" Then he noticed Gilly. "Spirits." He muttered. "Gram, bring the girl to the healer's tent." He paused then to the group, "If that is fine with you."

 

OOC

Spoiler

First, Nai and Hollow have a strike.

Second, fast forwarded a bit but if anyone has anything to do/say before that please ask me.

Third, basically now you all can talk about what went down, explain things, do whatever you wanna do within reason. It's still mostly free period but please post.

 

[Skaia 578]

As the group had come to the consensus that this was indeed the relic that the village was looking for, the girl had thus decided to take it with her, as the rest of the group went to picking up all of the other gear that had been strewn about. Carrying it with her, the girl made her way out of the cavern and as she did, was approached by Reinaan. As he handed her back the ring, the girl seemed a bit surprised, forgetting she had even done so but saying, "oh. Um, well thanks. I'm glad you found it useful." She didn't really think it was hers to begin with, but didn't really think she could turn the Draken down and simply took it back. Looking to Damien, who she was happy to see was now conscious, she smiled and nodded towards him. 

---

On the way back, Ryia took notice that Keres had been reading some of the papers that had been back at the fire mage's hideout. Though when she had seen them they didn't seem to make much sense to her, the girl was still curious of their contents all the same. As such, on a night during their trip back to Sol, Ryia had noticed Keres reading the papers once again. Walking over to her, in a rather unsure tone the girl merely asked, "um...what uh- what're you reading about?"

"That man. He's been alive a long time." She said.

Ryia hadn't actually seen the man properly, so she wasn't quite sure if he had looked old to begin with. All the same, noting it, she wasn't quite sure what kind of old Keres was talking about. "Like...he was old or just...?"

"800 years old. Roughly." There was a small pause before she added. "Maybe more."

The girl seemed to be surprised by this, not really sure what actually lived that long and also just at the magnitude of the time itself. Curious though, she continued to ask. "Oh...that is old....do they normally?" Keres had then gone on to explain that Aurans had the average life span similar to that of a human, though they also had the ability to be stop physical aging for themselves once they had reached thirty years old. Once that was done, they could theoretically live forever. "So...what was he uh, doing with that time?"

"I think..." She frowned, glancing back at the notes. "He used to be on the Council."

"I see..." Ryia merely sat there in silence from then on. Her own thoughts wrapped up in how a man like that could be a part of one of the more influential parts of the world. With neither of them saying much from there, the girl simply let the night pass.

---

Upon returning to Sol, Ryia was both surprised but also made somewhat happy by the fact that the residence had seemed to be waiting for their return. Once there, the group entered the town, swiftly met by the elder who had also seemed curious about their journey. Nodding as he asked about being able to treat Gilly themselves, she then said, "um, as for the task. Is..." The Earth Chosen then moved to the mule, procuring the stone from a pack on them, asking "is this what was stolen?"

As the stone was presented to him, the man practically fell back in shock. "Gracious...yes, that's it. That's the Sun Orb." He said. "How...where...where was it?"

Ryia wasn't best sure how to describe it all, but gave the rough summary. "Well...there was this fire mage. On a uh, rock spire of sorts...I don't know where in the desert but it was with the demon gate."

"A person did this?" He said, sounding surprised. "Well...thank you. For bringing it back. Truly, thank you." Nodding, smiling seeing the man overjoyed at their exploits, Ryia handed the stone over to him. Taking it with a look of both reverence and relief, the man then asked, "I hope you don't mind...me taking it to the shrine right away."

Shaking her head, Ryia merely said, "no, go right ahead." 

 

[Doggo 218]

Interacting with Ryia proved to be about all Reinaan's small bit of stamina was good for. He managed to get mounted up on Kloqah as the group began on their way out. But rather than lead the way the mount hovered in the back of the group as they set out back into the searing heat. The Draken slept the majority of the first day away, essentially hugging the base of Kloqah's neck. Her slower pace was part not having him to direct her where to go and part not wanting to wake him. And so the lizard duo simply followed the rest of the group until Reinaan roused from his sleep, feeling somewhat better. At the least he was in a lot less pain. But even accounting for day old puncture wounds and burns something felt odd. After a bit it registered that he felt a bit more aware of his surroundings than he ought to have given he wasn't particularly focused on anything. Maybe his body was just still in its flight or fight response since he was hurt.

Reinaan had Kloqah move to the front of the group again now that he was conscious. Looking at them all, most everyone seemed okay. Everyone except one that was. Gilly had yet to wake up from the shark attack toward the end of the battle at the gate. Given the group's track record in this desert he feared the worst for the girl but with the whole of the group watching out for her she seemed to stay somewhat stable through the trek. Hopefully the village could offer some help when they returned. The trip itself was largely uneventful, the increasingly intolerable endless sun overhead aside. Eventually the small desert town came into view on the horizon.

---

The group was met at once by the village Elder, complete with two young guards. Gilly was quickly whisked off to the healers of the town. Perhaps they would know something of how to help. But given an attack from a demon gate altered beast had done this to the Ice Chosen, Reinaan wasn't certain anyone would know exactly what to do. He thought of his own arm for a moment but felt his fellow Chosen had done about all that could be reasonably expected for it at least until Lindow had time to really regain his energy before attempting to use light magic on it. Before much else, Ryia produced the Sun Orb as the Elder called it which brought much relief to the old man. He wished to take it to its shrine immediately and the Draken could understand why. He was deeply curious about the object and how it worked as well so he decided to follow the man to the shrine.

"I'm gonna go with him. Make sure no funny business happens on the last leg of things." he said to the others. The boy dismounted Kloqah and it was only then that something else registered. The group seemed smaller than normal. He could see over Ryia's head where he was pretty sure they'd been the same height before. What's more he could just barely see over Lindow's head and he knew the man to be a fair bit taller than him. The observation left him on edge but Reinaan chose not to devote too much mental energy to it for the moment. Instead he simply followed close by the Elder and his guard. It wasn't too long before the fire spirit manifested to the townsfolk again however, a question in mind.

"My, how ever did you humans manage to put a piece of the sun into that sphere?" came Ziiyol's awed musings. That an object existed that seemed to be the essence of warmth itself was fascinating to her. It seemed like something everyone would want simply because fire was wonderful and no fire shone brighter than the sun.

"The sun isn't inside the orb itself. It's merely a magic device that absorbs energy from the sun and uses that to connect with it." was the Elder's reply to the spirit. That raised questions to both of the fire duo but Ziiyol seemed content enough to simply hover about observing it in the man's hands.

"So how does it being gone keep the sun up all the time?" Reinaan asked in turn. A device to harness the sun's power was one thing, but an object that once removed stopped the sun from setting in a certain region seemed beyond anything most races were capable of.

"That...I don't know." the elder responded. "Long ago there were rituals involving this orb but those were lost over time. I had no idea it had such power." The people didn't know how their own relic worked. That was understandable. Reinaan's own village had remnants from their founder which he knew next to nothing about why they did what they did. But then maybe the knowledge of the Sun Orb wasn't lost to everyone.

"Maybe that crazy Auran knew about them. I'll have to ask Keres what all she found in his stuff." Reinaan pondered aloud. He'd seen Keres reading some of the writings the man had left behind in the rock. He hadn't paid them much attention given his illiteracy in all but the most basic of ancient Draken. He still needed to get on learning to read human script from the others now that he thought of it. Maybe they'd have some time while recovering here. Regardless, these were all thoughts for another time.

"A crazy Auran? Is that who did this?" the elder asked of the boy. Reinaan realized Ryia hadn't described a ton of the situation while handing over the orb. The Fire Chosen had to ask himself if he was even certain the fire mage had been an Auran. He'd only really gotten up close and personal with the flaming skeleton version of the man. But even from a distance he seemed something like the Auran in the council they'd met. And he had the trademark colored skin corresponding to an element. It seemed to fit well enough with what he'd learned of the other races without directly meeting them all.

"Yeah, some fire mage had the orb and was keeping it by the gate. Dunno why but he was really into keeping the sun up forever." Reinaan replied casually. Unless the man's reasons were to be found in his writings the boy would have to attribute most of his actions to madness, probably from being so close to the demon gate.

"I've never heard of an Auran thief before. There was an Auran who came here long ago, he said it was official business, but he never so much as asked about the orb and when he left it wasn't gone." the Elder replied. An Auran on official business sounded reminiscent of the council and regardless of if he was part of it or not it cast a shadow of mistrust on the Draken's end of things. 

"Huh... did the guy have red skin?" Reinaan asked in turn. This was the only real trait he had to go off of to look for a connection. It seemed to be lost on him that this might not be the all defining trait he was looking for given his own majority black scales despite being aligned with the fire element.

"I think...yes, I believe so." the older man said after some thought.

"Might have been him after all. Either way I'm glad we could get it back for you." Reinaan thought. It made enough sense that if the Auran stole the orb he'd wanna scope the place out a bit first. But before he could linger on it too much another thought clicked in the boy's head. "Oh right, you guys didn't have any bandit problems while we were out did you?"

The elder shook his head. "I don't know if there are any still left around here. It's strange, things being so quiet. Maybe we'll get travelers again."

"Heh, figured they'd all run off after their boss dropped. I don't blame them for not wanting to fight a dragon!" the boy bellowed. He was puffing up his chest and flexing a bit to look a bit more imposing. Ziiyol giggled some at the sight though seemed to have her attention caught up in examining him in general. She'd probably say something about it soon enough. Reinaan then visibly winced as he moved his left arm without thinking. The scorched skin was incredibly tight and trying to move his hand had tugged on the whole of the badly burnt arm to some mild discomfort.

"Such a young group. Tasked with such a mission. The older generations have failed greatly." the Elder said with a frown upon observing the state of the Draken's arm.

"Hey don't worry I'll be fine in no time. And I'm almost an adult... I just don't look it.  But I'm getting there. At least I think I am. I don't remember being this tall last week..." Reinaan rambled. This elicited more laughs from Ziiyol and even the Elder.

"You're all young compared to me." the older man said as the boy got caught up with his Spirit.

"You've definitely gotten taller Reiny. I can see it in your legs and hips. They don't look as squat and childish. The rest of you is growing into it. It's quite a jump you've made in very little time. I wonder what's caused it." she softly questioned as she ran her hands all over the boy's body.

"H-hey cut it out! It's already hot enough without your fire hands everywhere!" Reinaan protested. The two bickered a bit more and lagged behind the Elder and his guards as a result. They squabbled about the Fire Chosen's height some more. Then Ziiyol naturally had to bring up her theory from before. Reinaan argued it had to be wrong given he'd been naked when he got the worst injuries thus far on the trip. But the spirit returned fire saying he'd intentionally hurt his arm with her power and her theory was that unlucky things happened while he was clothed. There wasn't gonna be an end to it for some time it seemed. The past days had been busy with battles and traversing the desert and had left little time for these antics. They had to play catch up now.

[Hollow 21]

Lindow remained uncharacteristically silent on the trip back. The only time he would really speak with the others was when Gilly was involved, and in those moments the man was straight forward and purely business. Even the magic he stole from the Light Spirit was completely useless, filling Lindow with a sense of powerless that he felt in quite some time. Even with all that he'd gained since starting this journey, he could do nothing to save this one life.

Mostly keeping to himself, the Lindw used the time do some reflecting on the battle with the fire mage, and the strange pull the Demon Gate had on him during its activation. It seemed there was more to his transformation than he had initially realized. Though it didn't trouble him too much, he certainly knew he needed more answers, and that there was likely only one person who could provide them... 

When the group reached the town, the Thunder Chosen immediately moved to followed Gram with Gilly. Glancing back to offer the other Chosen a slight nod whilst he departed, his gaze lingered on Reinaan for half an instant as it dawned on him that the boy seemed... larger somehow. Not thinking much of it, Lindow proceeded to follow Gram towards the village's healers without a word.

[LordCowCow 839]

Lindow would find his current traveling companion, Gram, to be of the silent sort. Though he'd notice this wasn't due to it being his nature but instead he seemed to be quite nervous to be walking beside the Chosen.

The healer's tent was large and somewhat open. Set up beneath a canopy it had protective cover to keep sand from blowing in but was otherwise wide open. As they brought Gilly in the healer hurried over as much as her hunched back would let her. She clicked her tongue as she looked over the girl and she was laid onto a cot. "Well, this doesn't look good. What have you had this girl do?" She looked at Lindow accusatory through somewhat milky eyes. "She's been through the wringer that's for sure..."

---

The rest of the group began to follow the elder towards the shrine. Though a bit into it Keres paused, wavered, then muttered to Ryia that she was going to see if she could help out with Gilly at all. She made her way towards the healer's tent as the rest continued to the shrine. A thought had crossed her mind and she knew she wouldn't be able to focus if she didn't see it through.

The shrine seemed the same as always. Empty, deserted, and powerless.

However as the elder approached the pedestal where the orb had sat there was a warmth, different from the desert's heat, that took up in their chests.

He hesitated with the orb in his hands and then stretched out and put the object into place. It settled perfectly in the indent left and the moment he did it flared to life. The warmth they had felt in their chest was now all around them. Nothing else happened for a few moments until...

A beam of light shot from the orb and into the sky above. Moving faster than his age would normally allow the elder moved to somewhere he could get a better view.

A view of the light going, up, up, higher and higher. Towards the sun. Until...

A sound could be heard. The sky itself seemed to crack like a mirror into thousands upon thousands of pieces. And then it shattered entirely.

The land around them instantly darkened as they witnessed something the people of this city hadn't seen in many years.

The sun was setting.

OOC

Spoiler

And there you have it. The curse...is broken. Welcome to the end of Chapter 1.

Unfortunately...Nai, I haven't heard from you and it's been a long, long time since you've been consistent here. I'll give you until the group leaves this place, which will be probably a couple more rounds, until I have to kick you from this.

Now, on the plus side, a little bonus for bringing back the orb. Another Soul Point.

 

[Doggo 218]

Keres and Lindow had both gone off to tend to the still unconscious Gilly. But with his focus on the Sun Orb and what the Elder would ultimately do with it, Reinaan had largely not noticed their departure. Only after his extended bickering with Ziiyol had the boy noticed Ryia and Anis still with him. They had come to a conclusion: Reinaan was going to prove her dumb theory so decisively wrong even she couldn't argue it. Naturally this meant he'd show her unfortunate things would still happen to him even if he was completely naked. Proving good things could happen with his jacket on would make more sense but until the ugly hole in the back of it from the scorpion stinger was fixed he couldn't wear it. That wouldn't be cool and what was the point of clothes if not to be cool? The fire spirit seemed content with the outcome and resumed her usual mindless humming and observing after hiding her presence from the non-Chosen.

Both now watched as the Elder held the Sun Orb above the pedestal of the shrine. A strange warmth unlike anything the desert could offer seemed to flow from it. After a pause that felt like an eternity, light erupted from the orb into the sky. Reinaan looked and marveled at how high it would go. Eventually it reached the sun itself and a loud shattering noise sounded as pieces of the sky fell, all at once revealing a sunset. It had been days since the boy had seen anything but high noon. He hadn't been able to track days nearly as well as he would have liked and was surprised to see it was nearly evening. The reduced light and temperature felt incredible after so long in the desert. It seemed to fill him with renewed energy as he was nearly hopping in celebration.

"We did it!" he shouted joyously to no one in particular. Though his display did end up facing him toward Ryia. It felt good to help the townsfolk given how kind and hospitable they'd been under their difficulty circumstances. They could finally get out from under their cover and see the night sky. The Draken could barely contain himself at the idea of seeing a beautiful night sky again. "We should party!" he declared to the Earth Chosen, hoping she'd share in his enthusiasm. His stomach rumbled loudly enough to suggest what this celebration would entail. It had been a while since he'd eaten. Add a fairly intense recovery process onto things and the boy wasn't surprised he was in the mood for food even despite the relatively slow Draken metabolism.

[Skaia 578]

Ryia merely stared in awe at the spectacle that took place. As a warmth from within seemed to wash over her, one far more inviting then brutally punishing like the rest of the deserts endless heat, the stone seemed to launch a beam into the air. Following to see it strike the sky, her mouth involuntarily went agape as the sky seemed to shatter and the sun began to set. As shadow began to cover the city of Sol once more, Ryia seemed at a complete loss for words as she continued staring into the sky. Despite the fact the endless amount of sharks they had fought, despite the auran archamge atop the rock spire, despite the horrors of the demon gate, this seemed to leave her more shocked than anything else. Though, it was a bit more than just that. 

As she heard her draken companion shout joyously, she muttered but repeated the same words, "we did it..." Their victory had been bittersweet. Their opponent had been horrifying. And their journey through the desert was still just as oppressive as it had been before. But now, staring at the sky, it was clear that they had done it. They had defeated a demon gate. They had saved a village not only from an onslaught of bandits but also a curse of endless day. In the end, their actions had helped the others of this country. 

A bit taken aback as the draken shouted to party enthusiastically, the girl first stammered, "um, well..." looking to the rest of the townsfolk, her flustered expression gave way to a bright smile as she said, "yes. I think a celebration would be a great idea."

[Hollow 21]

"What have you had this girl do?" She looked at Lindow accusatory through somewhat milky eyes. "She's been through the wringer that's for sure..."

Lindow glanced over and gave the woman a look. "Somebody had to get your little trinket back." Returning his gaze to Gilly, he took a step towards the girl so that he were standing over her. "She is tougher than she looks, I can promise you that much..."
 

"She'd have to be." The woman said grimly. "I don't think most people would even be alive this long. I'm not sure how much I can do."

"I see..." His eyes narrowed. Slowly extending his palm towards Gilly's head, he held his palm over the girls face for a long moment, before  finally calling on his Light magic yet again. Haughty whispers began to frantically sliver up his spine into the back of his mind. Lindow ignored them as best he could, but eventually the voices became unbearable, forcing the man to back off. Just like earlier, the light seemed to have little to no effect...

"That magic gives me the heebie jeebies." old woman muttered. 

"Well that makes two of us then..." Sighing, Lindow did his best to shake off the chill in his spine before looking the woman up and down with a drained expression. "Listen, I know it may seem unreasonable... but you and this town owe her a great debt. I'm asking you to do everything in your power to keep this one alive." As the words left his lips, Lindow began fumbling his robes for his stash of coin. "I'll cover any expenses there may be..."

"I don't need to be paid, silly boy." The woman said with a hint of amusement, causing Lindow to suddenly stop patting himself down.

He seemed to be confused for a moment, but quickly realized that the old lady was serious. " Thanks... t-thank you for your kindness!" Bowing his head, Lindow spoke in a soft, respectful tone that he so rarely found use for.  

With his head down, he heard the woman mumble something about kids being to jumpy these days, before going back to tend to Gilly. This caused a small smirk creep across the Lindow lips as he brought himself up.

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I kept you two ladies company then?"  As he spoke, Lindow's ears perked up the sound of another set of footsteps approaching the tent. They were very light, and with the only other person with feet even close to that small laying in the bed to his right, it  was easy to guess who they belonged to. "Missing out on a chance to see them work the orb, little Keres? How unlike you..." Eyeing the entrance, Lindow addressed the presence outside in his usual tone.
 

 

Edited March 31, 2019 by Hollow

[LordCowCow 839]

"Missing out on a chance to see them work the orb, little Keres? How unlike you..."

Keres had been watching closely as Lindow examined the girl. She knew what he had done before so she had followed him. Seeing him standing over the Ice Chosen she was almost ready to intervene. Yet he seemed to not go through with anything. She was debating leaving when the man called out to her.

She wasn't trying to hide but she didn't think he was paying any attention. She stepped closer towards Lindow. "Making sure." She said. "She's in bad shape. And I'm sure we'll see the results soon enough."

And, true to her word, they would be able to see as the sky shattered and the curse broke. The sun appearing to be setting. Which caused the people around the town to let out cheers, drawing more out, and more cheers. Even the old woman let out a bit of a excited noise.

Keres looked curiously at the sky. "Sun wasn't stuck...the sun was a creation. Hm."

She seemed to almost forget that Lindow was there as she began to consider what kind of magic had caused this.

---

The elder was crying. He was trying to hold it back, hand over his mouth, eyes closed, but it was clear that tears were coming down his face. At last. His town was saved. Not just from the temporary threat of the bandits but the true threat of eternal sun.

"Yes...the people...they will want to celebrate." He turned towards the two and gave them a kind smile. "I don't think they need my word to do so."

The truth of his words became quickly evident as the people of the city immediately began to break out the music and food. From children to the elderly they all were coming out to celebrate. They seemed to relish in the chill that was starting to come over the area. Cheering and hollering and breaking out into song.

The elder made his way to the closest thing he could find to the front of the crowd. "People of Sol...we are now at long last free!" Cheers went up again. "Praise freedom! Praise the Chosen! Praise the sun!"

[Doggo 218]

Ryia's reserved nature seemed to subside a bit as she smiled and agreed to the party. Reinaan was happy to see it. For a while now he'd been worried it would take a long time for the Earth, Water and Nature Chosen to feel remotely comfortable around him. The Elder seemed to agree with the sentiment, and it wasn't long before the people showed they were ready to celebrate as well. Music and cheers began filling the air as the people felt the heat subside for the first time in forever. His of freedom and praise to freedom, the Chosen and the sun filled the boy with energy. Ziiyol hovered ever nearby, mostly happy though a bit sad to say goodbye to the endless sun here. People who had attentively listened to Reinaan's tale of their defeat of the bandit leader called to the Draken to join their feasting and drinking. They no doubt wanted another round, and his arm aside Reinaan was more than ready to oblige.

"Come on, let's go!" he said cheerfully to Ryia as he grabbed the girl's good hand with his good hand and pulled her along for a moment before letting go. The cheers of the group that had called to him increased as they saw the boy approaching. He had to try and take everything in given the whole town was getting caught up in the spirit of the moment. As he looked to his left his eyes met the eyes of a familiar face, the girl he'd spent their last night in the village with. The two quickly looked away from each other, neither seeming to want to relive the night for the moment. Reinaan shook it from his mind and turned back to the crowd. They deserved their story.

And so Reinaan recounted the arduous trek through the desert and the sudden sandstorm. He told the story of the giant scorpion attacks and how they found shelter for the night only to find one of their own missing with only a boot as a clue. The Draken's voice was dynamic and emotive, filling each mundane detail of their quest into the depths of the earth to find Keres with mystery and intrigue. The fight with the Naga was loud and bombastic and wowed the audience as they heard of the destructive power the several Chosen possessed if they worked together.  His tale next made the final leg of the journey to the Demon Gate sound like a heroic march rather than the tiring experience it had been. He made each shark feel terrifying and left their number vague, as if they had tackled an ocean of sand sharks. He cackled and made the Auran's words feel comically evil and told of the fearsome fiery projectiles. The mage's fierce transformation into the flaming skeleton elemental was grandiose and detailed despite the boy having been occupied escaping from and assisting Gilly and Ryia finish the straggling sharks. The tale concluded with the final stretch of the fight against the elemental and cheers erupted once he declared the evil dead. Details of the gate and exactly where they found the Sun Orb he neglected but the people were more than satisfied with the story. The people were energized and laughing at the Draken's enthusiasm.

"Isn't this great?" he excitedly asked of Ryia with his duty to the party concluded. "Do humans always party like?" he asked of the girl, curious what life was like for her where she came from.

[Skaia 578]

As it seemed that the Elder of the village agreed with their sentiment, the girl continued to smile only to then let out a small "eep" as Reinaan grabbed her and toted her along to the rest of the village. Being dragged along, Ryia looked in awe to the joyous expressions of all the villagers as people seemed to be scraping together what food they could and just joyously cheering, singing and chanting. 

While Reinaan had gone off to regale the villagers with the tale of their adventures through the desert. Ryia herself, however, merely awkwardly walked around the town, trying to see if there was anything she could do to help out with the party. Of course, the people assured her they had it covered, and that she should just enjoy herself, but the girl wasn't entirely sure what to do. Soon enough, though, there was a large collection of people dancing about who seemed to call for the Chosen girl to come over. Despite not thinking it was quite for her, they insisted and thus Ryia found herself more swept by the crowd's momentum then anything else. 

Very ungraceful, Ryia often found herself tripping over her own feet and stumbling at every attempt to match pace with the crowd. Of course, they found some amusement in the warrior girl's less than lady-like dancing skills, but were all the same helpful. With one of them stepping up and taking her by the hand, flustered though she was, they slowly went through a dance to try and guide Ryia, step by step to actually moving along with the music they were providing. Though she still stumbled around she did not fall and as a result, the man let go of her, bowed and the audience applauded the two with them giving cheers to the Earth Chosen. Feeling embarrassed but overall still jovial ,at the excitement, Ryia bowed to them as well, and made her way away.

Eventually, it had seemed that Reinaan's story telling had finished as he caught up with her. Nodding, as he seemed to be having fun, the girl then pondered on his question. "Well, they can be." Ryia didn't have much in way of grand scale celebration from where she was, and most of her memories with parties were generally small family things confined to her home. "Well, not all of them are like this but..." Once she had gotten into adventuring, though, there were a few times she and her friends had gone out to celebrate at a tavern on a job well done. "Well, to celebrate a job well done, normally it's done with fewer people but, it's usually as loud and as energetic as this." As she was lost in her own thoughts, she then looked to Reinaan, realizing something about his question. "Do um, do Drakens do different things for parties?" 

[Doggo 218]

Ryia's answer to his question led Reinaan to believe that humans generally liked being loud and spontaneous when it came to celebrating something. These were qualities he'd been scolded for growing up though to limited effect. Regardless, he appreciated the difference in the cultures as it made his curiosity with humans as a child make more sense to him. Of course a free spirit would be drawn to these sorts of events. The Earth Chosen turned the question back on him which got him thinking about the sorts of things his village would do.

"Well, a lot of what we do is caught up in ceremonies and rituals and stuff." the Draken began as he reflected upon celebrations at home. "Like we'll sit around and eat together, and the adults drink this weird drink they won't let me have until I've proven myself a man. So it's not too different there. But it's always also while the elders are reciting stories like the creation of Draken or the founding of the village. Any dancing is rehearsed as a part of the ceremony for appeasing the volcano spirit. Not exactly a lot of room to just do what you want." the boy continued. He had many a fond memory of such events and yet he had regularly been frustrated with them growing up simply because he had to play his part. If he wasn't assigned to be one of the dancers he had to simply sit and watch and listen. The adults seemed to have more fun with the weird drinks but he couldn't have that either. Any time he'd attempted to act out he'd be punished for disrespecting the village's traditions. While they'd given up on making him cover himself the others wouldn't stand for that sort of thing. Reinaan wondered if maybe after coming back home he could inspire the village to relax a bit and do things more like what the small desert village was doing now.

"But, the food was always the best. Draken may not be the best at partying but they know how cook meat! If there's a Demon Gate on Blagos maybe you'll get to try it sometime. It'd be fun to show everyone around." the boy fantasized aloud. Reinaan thought of his explorations of the island's many caves, mountains and even some of the coastline. He had a lot of spots he really liked that he could show them.  The village probably wouldn't like him bringing a whole bunch of humans around everywhere but given their reaction to Ziiyol's appearance he doubted it would take much more than saying it was part of the spirit's mission to get them to leave him alone.

As he looked about the town Reinaan saw the people still going hard at it pretty much in every direction. Though for some reason he wanted to account for everyone in the group despite not being in a dangerous situation. Keres and Lindow had left earlier to tend to Gilly and Anis had come to the shrine with them but that still left someone. It took a minute but it clicked that he was thinking of Damien who he hadn't really seen around since they arrived.

"Hey Ryia," he began as he kept scanning the area to get her attention for a new conversation. "You spent some time alone with Damien while we went after Keres right? What do you make of the guy?" he asked. If anyone had had enough time to get a read on the man it would have been her. As it stood their initial interactions still had the Draken on edge around him but maybe the Earth Chosen had a different view.

[Hollow 21]

The sounds of celebration began to pour out into the streets. Within only a few moments, a crowd had formed, and the villagers broke out into song and dance in honor of the chosen. After taking a moment to study the festivities, Lindow strolled over to Keres before squatting so that he were level with the girls face. “Well since you're here... I’ve been meaning to discuss something with you.” Smiling, the man motioned away from where the main crowd was gathering. “Care to take a walk with me?”  

Keres watched his face for a while, creating a familiar silence amongst the pair. Lindow peered back patiently, waiting until the girl gave a stiff nod before proceeding exit the Healer's tent. As they walked, he took a moment to observe town folk. Only able to catch quick glimpses of the other chosen, he shrugged and returned his attention to the water witch at his side.  

“Did you expect to walk in on me with a blade to Gilly’s throat back there?” He cut to the chase suddenly and in a manner that would usually garner some kind of reaction from most people. Though he knew better than to expect anything of the sort from Keres...

"It was possible." Was the girls only response. Her mannerisms were dry and concise as just always. 

"You could at least try to lie..." Lindow scoffed whilst waving his hand dismissively. He already knew what this girl thought about him, and today certainly wasn't the day he'd bother to even try changing that. "But whilst we're on the subject... I wanted  pick your brain more about the nature of my special circumstance." As he spoke Lindow slowed his stride, bringing his thumb up to his heart. “I didn’t want to alarm the others so I didn't mention it at the time, but when you opened the gate... I felt something other than the thing's pungent aura."

Keres simply stared up at the man as if waiting for him to continue. 

“Well at first, like any sane person I felt compelled to get as far away from the damned thing as possible. But when I looked down at my body... I seemed to be struggling to keep myself from moving forward towards the portal. It was almost as if something was beckoning me inside without me evening realizing it...” Satisfied with their distance from the large groups of people, Lindow shifted so that he could place his back against one of the nearby buildings. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head and peered over to Keres.  “I figured you’d be able to make more sense of it than I, little Keres... and so here we are!”

The Water Chosen looked away. "Demon Gates connect to the Abyssal Realm." She started, commanding his attention despite size of her voice. "It corrupts anything it touches." The words slipped out as she took a moment to think. "It also draws in corruption." This time Keres nodded at Lindow as if to place her next words on him like a label. "Things that are unnatural."

“Hm, I see.” It was a fairly simple concept, yet he still took an extra moment to think about what she said. His mind raced to recall his encounter with the women in his dreams, only to be met with a haze that clouded figure's features, and even her exact words.  “The Abyssal Realm, huh? Do you think that’s where our friend from my dreams is then? Could her plan have been to have me go through the gate?”
 

"If...a demon was in your head. You'd already be dead." Keres responded slowly.

“But you have to admit that we’re not dealing with a normal person here." Lindow's words came much quicker. "Look, I took her offer knowing she was working her own angle. But after seeing the effect of the gate had on me, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve stricken up deal with the devil.” He paused for a moment.  “... metaphorically speaking.”

"You messed up." Keres said off-handedly, catching the Thunder Chosen visibly off guard. 

“It was a gamble." Quickly regaining his composure, Lindow scoffed and waved her off with a rapid series of flaps from his bandaged hand. "One that's payed off on more than just a few occasions..."

"Not worth it. Focus...is good." Keres peered over his shoulder. "Can I go now?"

"Huh?" Lindow deflated ever slightly, surprising himself. "Hm," Struck with the realization that he had been enjoying the exchange, Lindow glanced back behind him before tilting his head and nodding towards the festivities.  "Go ahead. You have my thanks, little Keres..."  With that he continued his stroll in the opposite direction. "We should gossip like this again sometime. It's rather strange to see you so chatty."

Edited April 6, 2019 by Hollow

[LordCowCow 839]

"We should gossip like this again sometime. It's rather strange to see you so chatty."

"That's because no one tries to talk to me." Keres thought, surprising herself with the annoyance she felt. On her face was nothing, however, as she gave a stiff nod towards Lindow and wandered away.

The crowd was...hectic. Being around this many people was difficult when they weren't moving around but now she felt herself tossed by the waves of movement. Unable to really get her bearings. And soon...Keres was lost in the crowd. Less moving through it than being pulled. She was growing ever more uncomfortable as she simply tried to look for a chance to get somewhere more calm and safer. Perhaps a familiar face. Or a spot of rest. Maybe she could find where the elderly were staying. Except she noticed some of them, too, were part of this mass.

Meanwhile Damien perked up. His gaze went to Reinaan and Ryia and he smiled wolfishly at the two. Almost as though he knew they were talking about him though that would clearly be impossible.

He accepted a drink from someone, some water with various herbs in it that was the closest they got to alcohol, and started drinking. Keeping his gaze on Reinaan and Ryia the entire time.

 

OOC

Spoiler

So, let me know how long you want to keep up doing stuff. Feel free to not post if you're done (but do note you'll have to wait for the others to finish if you do this). Once this scene is over I'm skipping us to our next location. So also figure out where we're going next in chat please.

 

[Skaia 578]

Ryia seemed interested in Reinaan's recounting of his people's form of celebration. It definitely seemed to be a much more slower, spiritual and practiced kind of party then she had been used to. But all the same, the end result sounded the same and the festivities had sounded just as enjoyable. Ryia merely smiled as the boy talked about showing the gang around, even if under a much more somber circumstance then a party, saying, "'l'll look forward to it." 

As the duo continued to walk about, Ryia was eventually taken by surprise by the boy's next line of question. "O-oh, Damien, um..." The girl looked away, stammering out a, "y-yeah. I, uh, I did, yes." Though thinking about the whole exchange again had left the girl only more red in the face and embarrassed. Not making eye contact with the boy she just said, "I- well - he's, yeah um - well he seems..." The Earth Chosen briefly thought of her next words though as she did she started to say everything on her mind. "Well he's....chatty, and pushy and difficult and doesn't care about personal space and he- " as the girl seemed to be getting more annoyed in her tone, she suddenly realized what she was saying before stopping herself and seeming all the more flustered then before. "Well. Um. He's also...nice...and I, uh, I think he means well."

[Doggo 218]

Reinaan was curious to watch Ryia's reactions while attempting to answer the question about Damien. She wouldn't look at him as she thought and she seemed to be tripping over her words initially. It made the boy wonder what exactly had gone on between the two of them while he and the others went after Keres. At least for the moment he attempted to follow where the girl's gaze was but it didn't seem to be at anything consistent, just away from him. That said, in the process of trying to look around again the Draken caught Damien in the corner of his eye. The man seemed to be looking over their way but Reinaan didn't linger too long on him and ultimately looked back to Ryia as she continued. Some of her awkwardness faded as she began to actually speak some of her mind. The girl really didn't seem all too fond of him given the words she was rattling off. Reinaan couldn't recall ever hearing her irritated which helped it make more of an impression. Though she seemed to catch herself as she added nice and meaning well to the list of qualities.

"Hmm..." the boy pondered aloud as if scrutinizing the response. The first part seemed more believable which only helped keep his suspicions about the man alive and well in his mind. "Well I wonder what he'll be doing now. Or what we'll be doing really. Doesn't feel like we're in all that great of shape to keep going..." he trailed off as he looked to his ruined arm again for a moment. But this was a party, it wasn't the time to be getting sad or pensive. "But hey, let's not worry too much about stuff. It's a party after all. We should eat or dance or something." he suggested. Reinaan wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do himself, much less what Ryia might want to do. As he looked back out at the townspeople several people called to the pair to join them, all eager to have their heroes join them in the fun. The boy was about to ask Ryia if she wanted to accept the invite but upon turning back to her realized he could see over her head now.

"I knew it!" he nearly shouted. "I am getting taller! We were the same height not too long ago." he continued, elated at confirming what he'd been suspecting while talking with the elder. He stood up as straight as he could and puffed up his chest, attempting to look more like an adult as if to impress the girl at his side. "I knew I had a growth spurt coming. I'm gonna get huge!" he now had something to celebrate himself. A smile had taken over his face and it wasn't going anywhere soon.

[LordCowCow 839]

In the end Keres wasn't able to escape the sea of people. She spent the majority of the rest of the night stuck around strangers and struggling to keep from being knocked over and pushed around.

She only found a safe space once the party began to die down. She rested near a storage shed with her back against its wall and watched the moon. It had been a while since she had seen it and she knew it was longer for the others. They had stayed outside as long as they could but the desert chill was starting to get to them and the party wound down until it was only her and the other Chosen left. She hadn't seen them since the talk with Lindow and she tried to get them to gather around to plan out where they would go from then on.

The mage realized that Damien wasn't around. Asking the few people who still wandered about, mostly young guards that were marveling at the stars, would reveal that the young man had been last seen at the Elder's hut.

Keres looked around at the pitifully small group. The remaining Chosen. "So...now what?" She said, voice only cracking slightly.

[Skaia 578]

Ryia and Reinaan continued to have small talk with one another as the festivities of the party went on, only for the night to eventually die down. As they walked around Ryia saw Keres, who had seemed to be looking for them as well, and gathered around with her. It didn't take long after that for the rest of the group to find both Lindow and Anis, though Damien didn't seem to be anywhere outside for the time being. Once together, Keres spoke up asking what to do next. The girl looked a bit solemn as she looked around, and then up to the night sky above them. Though the festivities had been joyous and though the problems here in Sol had been solved, it was but one of many. The fact that there were plenty of demon gates still out in the world and as long as such vile things were around, then there would be no real peace to be had. 

Looking back down, Ryia said, "I um, I think we should probably head back. To Haven." They still had a mission to report and friends to help. Ryia hadn't seen Gilly since they got back, but she only took that as a worse sign then anything, and figured keeping the halfling in the desert would do them no favors as well. "But, um, we should probably say goodbye...to the Elder first?" While Ryia figured that they shouldn't spend longer then they had to here, she also didn't want to just leave without a trace. So she figured it would be good for them to give a parting farewell to the man and...someone else.

[Doggo 218]

The young Draken was happy to continue chatting with Ryia as the night died down. It was some of the more normal conversation Reinaan had had with any in the group. There was little talk of magic or spirits and there was no problem at hand to discuss. At one point the boy remembered he'd wanted to learn to read and write some when they weren't in a pinch. Now wasn't the time to ask the Earth Chosen for a formal lesson but he did ask to see how his name would be written under the human writing system. The duo merely dragged a stick through the sand without paper on hand and with a little guess work Reinaan was happy to see his name spelled out in the dirt. Not that he really grasped what the symbols meant still. But he tried to burn the image into his mind as a starting point. With that fun aside they continued wandering about the town as the celebration slowly wound down. Eventually the found Keres and before long the entire group, Damien aside, had gathered together in the dark as most of the town had gone to rest.

"Back to those council guys?" Reinaan questioned in some disgust at Ryia's suggestion. "I don't like it but they did say they'd get these stupid curse things of us after we destroyed one gate." he concluded with a bit of sulking. The size of the group had dwindled already and the last thing they needed was another instance of one of them attacking the others. The boy agreed with saying goodbye to the Elder before leaving as his thoughts wandered to the journey ahead. "How are we getting back though? We just kinda popped up in the desert with that magic. Is Haven far away?" he questioned, unsure how well Gilly would take a long journey even with the eternal sun put to rest. His good hand moved cautiously to his burnt arm as continued, "And I don't know how helpful I'll be if something bad happens along the way."

[Hollow 21]

Lindow listened to Ryia and Reinaan quietly before yawning into the back of his hand. "I don't have any problem with saying goodbye to the old man." Glancing around the empty town square, he took a moment to recount their adventure in this cursed land. During all the battles it had been easy to forget the fact that this was only the first step of their journey. But in this moment the reality of the situation hung solemnly in the air around them.

"I believe they gave us a device to aid in our travel back to the tower, right? " Lindow flashed Keres a smirk. "Looks like it's time for you to sort out how it works, little Keres!"

"Oh, and we should also go about seeing if the boy will come with us whilst we're at it..." He glanced around to see the party's reaction to the idea of continuing to travel with Damien. "I'm sure our employers will have the means to make it worth his while, and we can definitely use another set of hands."   

Edited April 11, 2019 by Hollow

[LordCowCow 839]

"How are we getting back though? We just kinda popped up in the desert with that magic. Is Haven far away?"

Keres opened her mouth to reply but then.

"I believe they gave us a device to aid in our travel back to the tower, right? " Lindow flashed Keres a smirk. "Looks like it's time for you to sort out how it works, little Keres!"

One of these days she'd get back at him for calling her little so often. But not today. "I already know how to use it." She said, pulling out the, clearly charged, device. "It's been working...since destroying the Gate."

The conversation turned to Damien. "If he wants to...might help." She looked to the side as she considered. "Not a Chosen. Might make things...difficult. But. Might help."

She looked over at Ryia. Keres noticed tension between the two. Mostly coming from Ryia. She wondered if leaving him behind might be better for this girl. Yet she didn't say anything. It wasn't her place to speak up on Ryia's behalf.

---

Whatever everyone else thought they had decided to go say their goodbyes to the elder. They reached the man's hut but before they could announce themselves they heard voices inside. One belonging to the elder and the other to Damien.

"that the orb is back everything should be back to the way it was. I suppose you don't have a need to stay here any longer."

"I'm not sure about that." Damien's voice was a lot less joking than the others were used to. "There's still plenty to do here."

The elder chuckled. "You know what I mean. Go with them. You can do much good."

There was a silence. Then the elder spoke again. "You're not sure of them are you?"

"Just a buncha kids...hold on." Damien appeared in the entrance of the hut. "Well hello there. Is it time for the afterparty?" The smirk on his face seemed so natural and the tone of his voice so light it almost felt like an entirely different person than they had just heard.

[Doggo 218]

As Keres produced the teleportation device the council had given them, Reinaan was surprised to see it fully charged and ready to go. That greatly simplified their return trip to Haven. It would be near instantaneous and much easier on the ill and injured among them. Lindow of all people suggested they seek out Damien and see if he would be interested in continuing to travel with them. Based on Ryia's description from earlier and his own initial distaste for the man, the Draken was anything but eager to continue in his company. That said, he did see the Thunder Chosen's point. With three Chosen dead and another incapacitated, those who continued in the journey to the other gates would be hard pressed for man power. With how eventful this first Gate's destruction had been the boy could only imagine what else was waiting for them.

Ultimately, the group first decided to say their goodbyes to the Elder before using the device to be on their way. Finding Damien would prove to coincide with this task as they heard voices within the old man's home. Reinaan was hard pressed to believe the younger voice belonged to their sword-wielding acquaintance given how serious it sounded. He grew a little indignant at the condescending way Damien referred to them as nothing more than kids. Clearly their guest hadn't been paying any attention since joining up with them. Reinaan was about to announce the group when Damien himself came out the doorway, his usual attempts at charm sliding immediately back into place.

"We're here to say goodbye to the Elder. But since you're here, we wanted to know what you were you planning on doing now." The Fire Chosen stated. While polite it was clear he was not trusting of the man and was almost hoping the reply would involve Damien running off into the desert on his own.

"Plan? I don't have a plan." He responded with a shrug. "Same as when I came here. Just wandering is all." Reinaan didn't particularly buy any of it but as far as he was concerned this meant Damien didn't intend on accompanying them. If someone else wanted him along they'd have to ask.

Edited April 12, 2019 by Klonoa

[Skaia 578]

With the group having decided to say their goodbyes to the elder, they began their trip to the man's home. While they had also talked about getting the aid of Damien on their side, Ryia could her nerves act up as they started their walk. She wasn't entirely sure how to feel about recruiting the man to their side, though, that was less because of how she thought of him as a fighter. Thinking about having to spend more time around him was...well. The girl let out a defeated sigh for seemingly no reason in the midst of their walk, only to eventually stop at the house. Before they could make their way in, however, the group was able to hear both the elder and Damien speaking to one another. 

Despite the tone he had had not moments ago, the boy seemed to be in his usual jovial demeanor as he answered Reinaan's question. Looking to him, as he was now and thinking about his plans, Ryia could start to feel herself get a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't the usual nervous feeling she got when socializing but, it was definitely something visible on her. And hearing his plans, that were what lead him to them in the first place, the girl couldn't help but ask, "will...will you keep, um...wandering into trouble?"

He smirked in response. "Worried about me? Trouble does seem to find me often, though."

Ryia glanced away briefly, "that's..." Well, it was certainly true but it wasn't entirely the point she was getting at. The girl didn't quite know what else to say to the man, though, and knew that simply skirting around the topic wouldn't get them anywhere with him. So, as bluntly as her less than confident self would allow, she asked, "then...would you um...want to come uh, with us?"

"Guess that depends." He steps a bit closer. "Why're you asking?"

Gulping as he did, feeling the same kind of nervous sensation she did the last time he had done so. Surprisingly, though, she did not seem to step back or shy away from him, instead merely stating, "because...because we want your help."

"Hm, you do, do you?" He looked around at the group. "Seems like it'd be even more trouble than I'm used to."

Ryia grimaced as he pointed this out, muttering "yeah...probably..." Looking down, she could tell she was doing poorly, but more than that she could start to feel something else bubble inside of her. He was a magnet for trouble. No, he probably looked for it. She knew that he was searching, if not for the demon gate still searching for something. And to search for something in the desert - anywhere - alone was.... Looking back up to the man she said, "but...it would be even more trouble for you to keep doing things as you have been, right?"

He shrugged. "It seems to work out pretty well most of the time." He flashes her a smile. "I got to an enjoy a nice night with you after all."

Ah, there it was again. That feeling that she knew was there. He was right, they had talked through a whole night once. They had spoken with one another, but more importantly, she wasn't just the victim of relentless teasing then. Despite his flirting nature, she saw how he talked to her, about her, to the animals. Even with a blade to her throat she felt like she knew he was just deflecting. Shaking her head, not shrinking away or blushing from his comment, she looked to the man.  "it doesn't. It wouldn't. You wanted to help these people too, right?"

"All I did was check out some problems is all, that it helped just was a bonus is all." He responded, keeping his grin on.

Ah, there it was again. The feeling rising to the surface and somewhat clear in her expression.

Ryia was annoyed. 

[Hollow 21]

"How cute." Lindow chirped to the other chosen as Ryia and Damien had their exchange. He took this moment to study the boy one last time, recalling his actions since linking up with the group and the shift in mannerism he displayed when speaking with the Elder.

"All I did was check out some problems is all, that it helped just was a bonus is all."  Damien continued to grin in the Earth Chosen's face.

"Well I bet we'll meet no shortage of people with problems on our journey." Lindow finally stepped forward. Despite the fact that the boy's motivations were still unclear, his gut told him that Damien had the heart of a good man. "I doubt The Council will have trouble making it worth your while... but surely someone as modest as yourself won't mind doing it all for the karma, right?"  He smiled at the boy as spoke. They would simply have to deal with the him if his instincts were wrong...