The Chosen [IC/PG-16]

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres frowned. It seemed that most people were, for the most part, indifferent, until that man spoke. The fact that he of all people wanted to split them up, and that he specified the swamp...She knew the swamp. She also knew that it was not a place to take so lightly. She couldn't be sure how strong these people were but she didn't like jumping into such a decision. Still, she didn't feel comfortable speaking her mind. She knew nothing of this group and didn't feel comfortable around them.

Seeing the nervous Earth Chosen speak, however, gave her the motivation to say something. "One died...already. More could." With that she clammed up.

 

The Auran Councilman sat passively as they talked. He gestured in the direction of Gilly, how he could tell where she was, was unknown, telling her to get closer. As the group talked he decided to answer her question.

"I have a quick question before we go! Where do you think is the best place? Where's the friendliest and unfriendliest place? Cuz I wanna make new friends but I wanna know if they'll be poopyfaces at first or if they'll be super nice and just be all 'hi how are you?' and then I can talk to them about food and maybe they'll join us in our adventure and we can all kick some demon butt!"

 

"I can not be certain how everyone you meet will be, but I am sad to say this world has many...poopyfaces." The man smiled slightly, knowing that it would be surprising to hear that word from him. "I cannot say where the best choice, for your group, would be. You all have different backgrounds. But, perhaps, Bresa would be a good start. The people there are not as distrusting, if you don't mind fish. Or perhaps Qresa, it has many mysteries that may relate to the Gates. Granted if you wish you could travel by foot, perhaps visit the major cities of Haven. There are no gates here but you may find something that will aid you. I am no seer, however, so I can't give you much advice."

 

He spoke up louder then. "If you wish to split that is your own choice. I will tell you how. One person must hold each of the spikes, and both will focus on their separate destinations. Those touching one will travel with them, and the other will go with the second. I must warn you. Whichever has the strongest will shall gain control of the device after the transport. The others will have to do without."

[Hälō]

 

"If we do split up, then I shall go to the Desert. That's all, I guess."

 

Lindow turned to the woman who said this. "Fair enough," He nodded towards her and smiled. "Business there?" The hunter enquired before glancing towards Keres. "Nonetheless, I'll be heading to the Swamp if we agree to do this. Between me and little Keres here, we should be able to navigate relatively safely." 

 

"I agree with the One-Eyed One. Only if there is a healer in each group."  The orc was the next to chime in. 

 

" Seems logical, Khadba Dulaga...." Lindow paused for a moment to glance around the room after giving the Orc a small smirk. He struggled sightly to pronounce the man's name but hoped he didn't butcher it too badly. "If anyone has any healing capabilities, now would be the time to speak up." He addressed the group as a unit. 

 

"U-um, I, I don't think this is a good idea." The shaky voice of the Earth Chosen prompted him to turn and face the girl. "This world, it's not very forgiving for mistakes. Even if you have a good plan or have people with experience, one small misstep can end a journey. And we're just eight people who don't know anything about each other and have to go fight these demons, something none of us know anything about." Though she lacked confidence, he could tell she truly believed what she was saying from the bottom of her little heart. "b-but we're not invincible. So...So we can't be sure that if we were just four a group something won't go wrong. An-and, if it does, then we don't even have a way of knowing what happened to the others." Lindow's eyes narrowed slightly from boredom as she continued to speak."S-so, I don't think we should split up."

 

He opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by little Keres. "One died...already. More could." 

 

After that the council member also decided to interject. Glancing over his shoulder and listening to the man's words, Lindow waited for the older gentlemen to finish before turning to address the Earth and Water Chosen.

 

"I couldn't have said it better myself, girls..." He spoke in a smooth even tone. "We're not invincible. Things happen, and this world isn't very forgiving of mistakes... I've learned that first hand." He paused for a moment to let his foxlike gaze linger on the earth Chosen, before pressing on. "If one misstep can end a journey, do we really want to put all of our eggs in one basket?" Lindow glanced around. "Suppose we travel as a single group, and encounter a unbeatable threat or fall into a situation that leads to all of our demise? That's it. The world is doomed, and all of it's savior's corpses are piled conveniently together..."

 

"If worse comes to worse and one of the groups does end up failing, there would still be four of us to continue the fight and destroy the gates." 

[Andx]

The conversation among the group took longer than Reinaan had been hoping it would have but he did his best to pay attention to what was being said. Ziiyol had given up on her attempt at setting the teleportation device and took to idly twirling about not seeming particularly engaged with the group. Quickly there were some valid points brought up by Lindow. They could split up into groups of four and try to take out two gates at once. But others objected if there wasn't to be a healer for each group or just in general the reduced numbers seemed frightening. The Earth Chosen in particular seemed conflicted about splitting the group up which the Draken couldn't help but find strange given the competence she'd displayed in the battle with the council's creatures.

 

"Splitting up into groups of four or five is common practice while hunting for my village." Reinaan began adding what experience he had with these things to the group's considerations. "It's easier to move in smaller groups and not dangerous as long as everyone's strong enough." he said looking over to Gilly who was firing off comments at rapid speed to the council member. Four or five Drakens could take care of themselves but was every chosen here really equivalent to a Draken? Surely the Orc was more than strong and perhaps Lindow but the others Reinaan wasn't so sure about. And while all the Chosen had been in a group together the elf girl had still fallen pray to their attackers. Regardless the boy did still want to leave this place and determined that making the decision somewhere else might be more helpful.

 

"Lindow you talked about a town called uh... Izlaton. That must be halfway between the desert and the marshes then. Let's head there now and ask around about the monsters in the areas and see if it's safe to split up then." he said offering what he hoped was a quick way out of the council's bizarre abode. He turned to the bring the teleportation device to the center of the group so everyone could grab hold of it but as he did so the boy nearly tripped and the object went flying out of his hand toward the others. He managed to catch himself from falling but let out a bit of yelp as his fingers lost grip of the device. Hopefully someone had good reaction time or they might all find themselves walking to the various gates.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Splitting up into groups of four or five is common practice while hunting for my village."

 

As expected of nonhumans, they couldn't even hunt efficiently. No way that method would gather enough food for an entire village. Anis had used her magic to inject herself with some caffeine to refresh herself somewhat, and while she's still struggling to stay awake, she could now follow conversations easier. The halfling's comments were still too fast for her to keep track of though.

 

"It's easier to move in smaller groups and not dangerous as long as everyone's strong enough."

 

Accurate in this case, but still wouldn't be good for hunting, unless you hunt for a smaller group-

 

"I couldn't have said it better myself, girls..."

 

Right, the others were talking about their decision on whether to split up or not. Anis was too busy criticizing the draken in her mind to pay attention to the man with the plan speaking. It seemed that some of them were opposed to splitting. It's fine, it's not like Anis or Ileca were in a rush. Although, it would be nice if they could get this done and over with fast too. And Shirin might object anyway but who cared about its opinion anyway?

 

"I am here you know?"

 

"We're not invincible. Things happen, and this world isn't very forgiving of mistakes... I've learned that first hand. If one misstep can end a journey, do we really want to put all of our eggs in one basket?

 

Suppose we travel as a single group, and encounter a unbeatable threat or fall into a situation that leads to all of our demise? That's it. The world is doomed, and all of it's savior's corpses are piled conveniently together...If worse comes to worse and one of the groups does end up failing, there would still be four of us to continue the fight and destroy the gates."

 

"However, if such foe that would be insurmountable for all of us existed and guarded one of the gates, wouldn't it end up the same anyway? Like it or not, we would still need to deal with that gate to finish this. If we couldn't deal with them with all of us, then we'd have an even worse chance when split. Splitting also would give the chance of letting places where it would be manageable to deal with at first to be really bad and risky.

 

I'm not opposed to it, but the risk of splitting needs to be said in clear."

 

"Lindow you talked about a town called uh... Izlaton. That must be halfway between the desert and the marshes then. Let's head there now and ask around about the monsters in the areas and see if it's safe to split up then."

 

Ah, finally something from the draken that she didn't feel of criticizing on her mind. Thinking about it, perhaps Anis was getting a bit too bitter. She should find out a way to be less so else her relation with the group would sooner or later be strained. Afterwards, he did some maneuvers that looked pretty much like a circus failure, but it managed to bring the device to the center of the group. With that in place, Anis and Ileca moved forward to approach the device.

 

"Come on, let's make haste. I will get us to the desert if no one agreed on where should we go next, but if we agreed on splitting, then we should go to Izlaton.

 

Although..." Anis finished her threat dressed as addressing by looking over at the council members. "Is it possible for this device to bring us to two places at once? In that case, if we split up, we'll both go to our destination places.

 

What I said remained. Before the path got forced to us by fate, I'll take us to the desert unless you figured out where you'd like to go."

 

---

[Alaina]

As the girl made her point clear, she was relieved to hear that someone else, the Water Chosen, was agreeing her on her point that splitting up was dangerous. However, just as she had thought she made her point fairly clear, the man in the eye patch had voiced his disagreement towards her idea. He seemed to have the idea that if all of them were together then that would make the chances of the entire world being doomed that much greater, as opposed to splitting themselves up. While it was true, that if they were all in one group that a catastrophic event happening to that singular group was likely to end their chances of surviving right then and there, she also knew that he was saying something that didn't quite seem reasonable to her. The Earth Chosen had known, from prior experience no less, that what he was proposing an extreme and that what was more likely to happen wasn't quite that. However, the girl managed to stammer out a, "th-that's not," but was unable to actually bring herself to say what it was on her mind. Even if she believed to be true, it was still one that provided extreme discomfort to her to think of, let alone speak out loud. 

 

While she was trying to bring herself to rebuttal with the man, the draken boy had spoken up with his own thoughts. While she could agree that a hunting party of sorts could likely go out in groups of four or five, there was still something crucial they were missing that an organized group would normally have. And while she didn't agree with everything he had said, she was still put slightly more at ease as he wanted to keep the groups sticking together for as long as they possibly could. However, as he stated this, he seemed to fumble their travel device before letting it out of his hands. Seeing it come towards her, the girl back stepped away from it on reflex before trying to grab it with one hand. She had managed to only hit it a bit upward and off of her hand as a result, but kept continuing to catch it with one of her hands, somewhat juggling it between each hand three times before finally using both of her hands to clasp down on it, letting a sigh of relief.

 

The next person to speak up was the older looking woman. The woman seemed to speak on the risks of the choice of splitting up more clearly, and probably more confidently, then the Earth Chosen had been able to. And so because of that, the girl found confidence to turn her thoughts into words. And so after the woman had finished speaking of the risks on splitting, the Earth Chosen remarked, "a-and the, um, difference between 3 and 4 to 7 and 8 is, is much bigger." Even with the confidence, she still couldn't bring herself to say the full idea behind her words, and thus knew they were likely missing some context, but hoped the meaning got across well enough. With the woman having made up her mind on where it was she wanted to go and wondering where the rest of the group wanted to go, the girl nodded and said, "so, I don't want us to split up and agree on going to the desert." 

[Ren✧]

Kha didn't see where this discussion was really getting them. Without someone to make the final decision for them, the group would just talk around in circles. They needed a way to make an executive decision and quickly. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like anyone was really offering a solution to the stalemate. The One-Eyed One seemed to be the only staunch defender of splitting up, the draken seemed unopposed to the idea, albeit somewhat cautious. Kha found himself wanting to split up, the One-Eyed One had convinced him of the necessity to do so. It reminded him of something his Den Mother used to say. 

 

"An army does not all sleep in one tent. Lest they wish they want their enemies to set the tent aflame and die."

 

Kha smiled at the memory, nodding along to the thought. He attempted to keep up with the Chosen of Nature's speech, but found himself lost in her words. "Does she want to split up or not?" He thought to himself, unable to comprehend where she was coming from. He decided to silent on that part, afraid he had missed something vital in her argument and would be branded 'the stupid orc'. 

 

Unbeknownst to Kha, Kal'bri had roused herself from her slumber and was listening intently to the conversation being held. Perhaps it was the fact that she had just woken up or maybe she was feeling uncharacteristically civil, but Kal'bri managed not to cause a scene as she watched and listened to the Chosen deliberate. 

 

That is, until... "so, I don't want us to split up and agree on going to the desert." 

 

"I'm going to have to stop you right there. Don't worry, it seemed like you were having trouble with your words anyway. Fact of the matter is, I don't really want to travel you with you all." Kal'bri declared, fluttering off of Kha's shoulder so that she was, as always, the center of attention. Kha attempted to stop her, but to no avail. "Ideally, I would just stay here with this pure being here." She said gesturing to the Auran. "However, if I have to travel, I'm not going to do it with some dirty-crawling lizard or filthy Halfling. I've already spent my entire existence on this plane in the company of an orc...so, we're splitting up. And I am definitely not going to the desert. It's way too dry."

 

Kha, at first, was too aghast to say anything. His jaw hung slightly open, horrified that Kal'bri would make such a statement in front of all the other Chosen. He searched for a way to remedy at least some of the damage.

 

"I still believe we should split up. Healers on each team. But we, will be traveling with Chosen of Fire and Chosen of Ice. If they will take us." Kha immediately stamped out Kal'bri's following objection with a low growl and wave of his hand. He hoped that Reinnan and Gilly would see the olive branch he was extending in light of Kal'bri's attack. 

[Sethera]

"I can not be certain how everyone you meet will be, but I am sad to say this world has many...poopyfaces." Gilly gave the councilman a second look at that. Seems he was cooler than she thought. "I cannot say where the best choice, for your group, would be. You all have different backgrounds. But, perhaps, Bresa would be a good start. The people there are not as distrusting, if you don't mind fish. Or perhaps Qresa, it has many mysteries that may relate to the Gates. Granted if you wish you could travel by foot, perhaps visit the major cities of Haven. There are no gates here but you may find something that will aid you. I am no seer, however, so I can't give you much advice."

 

He spoke up louder then. "If you wish to split that is your own choice. I will tell you how. One person must hold each of the spikes, and both will focus on their separate destinations. Those touching one will travel with them, and the other will go with the second. I must warn you. Whichever has the strongest will shall gain control of the device after the transport. The others will have to do without."

 

And then Mr. Cro--Lindow suggested splitting up. The others gave their opinions on that and Gilly couldn't help but notice that they were very, uh, different. Mr. Lindow (that was a good compromise, right?) was smooth as freshly kneaded butter. Dragon boy mentioned hunting and then something about a desert, but showed himself to be clumsy too as he lost his grip on the ball, device...thing. And then that timid girl with the pretty pink hair showed herself to have good reflexes when she caught it. Anis showed herself to talk almost as much as her when she was up to it. Key on almost.

 

After that, she heard something quite strange. A little pixie had appeared in their midst, seeming to come from the orc. "I'm going to have to stop you right there. Don't worry, it seemed like you were having trouble with your words anyway. Fact of the matter is, I don't really want to travel you with you all. Ideally, I would just stay here with this pure being here." She gestured to the cool guy. "However, if I have to travel, I'm not going to do it with some dirty-crawling lizard or filthy Halfling. I've already spent my entire existence on this plane in the company of an orc...so, we're splitting up. And I am definitely not going to the desert. It's way too dry."

 

Gilly tilted her head. "You...don't like me?" she asked, voice uncharacteristically small.

 

Snow winced. Uh-oh...

 

Hob looked up from his sniffing of Keres' boots. He might have decided not to eat them but they really did smell good. In fact, the girl's entire wardrobe smelled different from what he was used to.

 

A few beats passed, and then... "Well, that's okay!" the halfling spoke, fire in her eyes. "I'll show you how great I can be, believe it! You might not like me now, but I know that'll change soon! Because I'm awesomesauce and everybody likes awesomeness though not everybody might like sauce so hmm maybe that's the case? I like sauce but I know it's sometimes too thick or too runny? And then you put in spices sometimes and that makes it yummy but I know not everybody likes spiciness so is that the case?" She paused, seeming to realize she got off track. "Anyway, yummy sauce aside, you must not have met many nice halflings but then again you haven't met me." She gave a proud grin. "And I'm special because I'm the Gillymaster which you will see. By the end of this trip you will like me!"

 

"I knew it," Snow muttered. "Give her a challenge and she won't ever let go."

 

"Baa."

 

"Yes, I know. Let's just hope for the best." He dearly hoped they wouldn't be traveling with the light spirit, if only because Gilly would never stop pestering her if that were the case.

[Cherz]

((Cop out post lets go))

 

Ayden was having a hard time focusing on everything. Ever since that dream, he couldn't keep his mind off of it. Nocturne tried pressing him, but Ayden shoo'd him off. He didn't want Nocturne around right now. He was completely out of his usual self. Almost brain dead all morning. He listened half halfheartedly to the others bantering and arguing about...something. Of what he was not quite sure. Regardless...he had to think. Which was a lot harder for him than a normal person because Ayden is pretty dumb. Not much usually goes on in his thick skull. Even the counsels talking didn't faze him. He just looked at his neck in the reflection of his tainted sword, eyeing the mark the counsel made.

 

"A chance to be free..." He said, after his spell of silence all morning.

 

"Ayden, whats troubling you?" Nocturne inquired.

 

Still, the spirit was not able to coax out a response. Ayden cleared his mind for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before approaching the Orc that saved his ass, and the dainty little fairy. It seemed he finally decided to socialize at the wrong moment. As he approached, the little fairy began throwing shade at the other races. Her little vulgar outburst was so funny, Ayden couldn't help but laughing as the others stood there in shock. He managed to pick up something about 'taking people with them,' and directed a question towards Kha.

 

"I-uh, I don't suppose you have room for another?" He half heatedly inquired, not entirely sure what was going on. But he knew one thing: That orc was a life saver.

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The group went back and forth while the Councilman sat back and listened. It seemed that they struggled to decide on anything. It was almost an even split of who wanted to do what and go where and Keres wasn't able to really argue her points very well. It wasn't until she came to the realization that there was only one actual healer that things started to find a direction. They learned that, besides Kha, only Anis and Keres had any form of healing ability. And even at that, the two of them combined, with Anis' knowledge and herbs, and Keres' pain dulling magic, they didn't quite equal an entire healer.

After that, though some still adamantly believed they should split, it was decided they'd travel together.

Keres tried to flash Ryia a smile of appreciation, though it could barely be considered a smile at all, and she gave up soon after.

The decision where to go was more tricky. It seemed to be split between the desert and the swamp. With Lindow leading the pack of the "go to the swamp" crowd, and with Reinaan, Ryia, and Anis wanting to travel to the desert, especially after it was explained to the Draken what a desert and swamp was.

In the end it seemed it came down to Keres to make a decision, something she wasn't quite ready for.

 

She knew the swamp fairly well, and a desert would be troublesome with her magic. However...Lindow was oddly adamant about splitting them up and heading to the swamp, with her. She found it concerning. Why would he want to bring who he thought was a witch to the home of witches? Or was it perhaps because he thought he could get away with something nefarious in the swamp? Her, mostly ridiculous, theories started to build in her head and she decided that, no, she didn't want to go along with what he wanted to do here. Not to mention what if he ended up hurting Kitty? She couldn't have that.

"Desert." With that, it was decided, and Keres stepped forward to grab hold of the teleport device.

The Councilman, realizing they had come to a decision, and nodded. "Very well, you will need these then." He placed his hand on his desk and began speaking. Keres realized it was the language of magic, however, when the portal opened up, she got curious. He hadn't been casting a spell for something like that, so, what was it? Her musings were cut off as brown cloaks, one for each of them, appeared through the portal. "This will keep some of the desert heat off of you, though, it's not full-proof. Especially for those in armor. Please be cautious and use what shelter you can. Now, if there's anything you need, ask now before you leave. If it's in our power we will grant it to you."
 

Keres merely needed to be sure her flask was filled with water, and also managed to obtain an extra flask just for drinking. They couldn't take too much with them but water would be crucial, she knew.

---

Once everything was settled, Keres had everyone gather around her. She didn't like the idea of them having to be in contact with her for this to work but she also figured she'd be the best suited to use this, and her gaze brokered no arguments. Once everyone was in place, the spell was cast, and they found themselves ripped from their location suddenly.

 

It was an unusual feeling, nothing like stepping through the portal. Keres, and the rest, felt as though they were spinning rapidly, despite their physical bodies feeling like they were frozen in place. All around them were a confusing swirl of colors that was almost sickening. Keres wanted to close her eyes but she knew she'd have to focus to bring them where they wanted. As she concentrated she began seeing locations flash before her and she focused on the idea of the desert, and what she knew of it, and its location. Several minutes passed and the world around them began to get clearer and clearer.

Until suddenly everything stopped and they found themselves on solid ground.

The Solarus Desert. A harsh and unforgiving wasteland of sand and sun. Where the sun is constantly beating on travelers overhead. A place where few people attempt to cross, most more willing to risk travel by sea than to cross its expanses. It is home to many dangerous creatures that thrive in the sand, and don't mind the heat, and thus are foreign to most other islands. What these creatures are is mostly a mystery, however, due to the very few accounts of travelers living through an encounter in the harsh sands. Somewhere in these desolate wastes a Demon Gate supposedly waits. And it is up to the Chosen to unveil its location and erase it from the world.

 

They found themselves at the edge of a massive bridge connecting The Restless Marsh to the desert. Behind them was a huge, stone, structure, built almost as a complete cube, that separated the bridge from the island. This building was home to a group of soldiers, tasked, by the council, to guard the bridge and keep account of all who pass through. There was no response from inside, that they could see, to the sudden emergence of the group. It was possible that the council sent word that the Chosen would be arriving thusly and they were not concerned. Though this begged the question of why they would not come out to meet them.

 

Of course, the sun beating down on them, even in this, sand-less, portion of the island, was harsh so it was likely the soldiers wished to avoid leaving their shelter for too long.

Keres glanced around and realized that, for several miles, the land around them was free of sand, yes, but also free of grass, or any vegetation. It was a completely barren stretch of land that only ended, she realized, where the true desert began.

 

"A day." She said, nodding towards the east. That was her guess as to how long it would take to reach the lake and, if they passed by it, the only true city on the island.

She glanced at Flux, who seemed to be shriveling in the heat. They moved closer to Keres, understandably subdued in face of this sun.

[Andx]

The discussion on where the group would go and how they would go about it took its course. Reinaan listened and spoke where he could about what he felt they should do. The light spirit who was the orc's companion called him a dirty-crawling lizard at which he seemed notably irritated. He was a mighty dragon in his mind not just some lizard let alone dirty. His nostrils flared as he stared the little spirit down, traces of flames escaping with it. Before he could do anything the orc offered what seemed to be a form of apology and the Draken calmed a bit. The orc seemed friendly enough. It was at this point Reinaan was beginning to realize he'd never really gotten anyone but Lindow's name. Something he'd have to fix. The boy simply nodded at the Light Chosen's proposal showing his acceptance of the apology.The ideas of going to the swamp and desert and splitting up or not continued around.

 

Reinaan had no particular knowledge of what either place was like and so the group explained to him as best they could. Swamps seemed to be full of water and mud while deserts were hot and dry. Draken and fire spirit companion both emphatically agreed the desert was the place for them. After learning the orc was the only real healer the group had they decided to move all in one group for now off to the desert after the water chosen spoke a single indicating that's where she thought they should go. Their decision made the council member seemed to use some more magic and suddenly a brown cloak was summoned for each Chosen. Apparently its purpose was to keep the sun off their bodies which he didn't much understand. Sun bathing was great when it was safe to do so. But apparently it wasn't something other races liked to do. They were told to ask for anything else they felt they needed before leaving and after seeing the Water Chosen ask for water Reinaan felt to do the same. He was provided with a container filled with water he could still carry in his bag as well as some dried meats as a form of provisions. Having eaten as much as he had here at the tower they probably wouldn't be needed for at least a day but good to have regardless. With everything in place Reinaan grabbed hold of the other Chosen and the group was off.

 

 

After an intensely dizzying and disorientating moment or so the group found themselves standing in what Reinaan assumed was the desert. Reinaan had quickly shut his eyes during the teleportation as he was not a fan at all of the sensation. After a moment he was readjusted and taking in what all was around him. He realized they were standing on stone. A bridge it looked like with the actual desert some distance off. According to the Water Chosen it would take them a day. At least that's what he assumed she meant. She never did provide much context to what her phrases meant. Ziiyol began dancing about the group, seemingly ecstatic to be in such a warm place.

 

"Oh this is wonderful!" she cried out as she twirled through air. Reinaan felt himself relaxing as well. The warmth was welcome and not being inside the council's tower was refreshing. Not only because he wasn't around them now but also because he felt he had his sense of direction back. Everything felt out of place in that tower. With portals taking them to rooms he couldn't ever figure out the layout of the place. But now he knew what was around him and could keep track of it again. Figuring it'd be best to make use of the cloak provided Reinaan removed his jacket, exposing the rest of himself to the sun. He paused for a moment and took a few rays in and felt wonderful. Folding up the jacket and placing it away in his bag he placed the cloak he'd been given on. After a moment of figuring out the head and arm holes he had it in place. For once the boy was decent. His tail still wasn't completely covered of course but other than the end of that, his feet hands and head there was actually clothing covering him. The cloak itself seemed very open and light. It wasn't restrictive at all and the Draken found it somewhat cool. And so despite feeling a bit odd about being so covered he felt alright wearing it for the cool factor. The change of clothes finished he turned his attention to the Orc and tried not to look at the light spirit while looking up to address the tall Chosen.

 

"Don't think we got the chance to ever really meet. I'm Reinaan Malyol, a Draken from Blagos. Thanks for the offer to travel with me even if we didn't end up splitting. Ready to take on this uh, dez-urt was it? I think that's how you say that." he said second guessing himself toward the end. Was that a proper way to address an orc? Was the Light Chosen even an orc? He didn't really know for sure it was just what he had assumed from the descriptions his elders had given him. He started scanning the horizon and noticed something strange in the distance. It seemed like the land was covered in rippling water. It was nothing more than a mirage from the heat and light reflecting off of the sand but the Draken had never seen something like that before. "Woah I thought you guys said there wasn't any water out this way!" he said with a sort of awe in his voice. Here was what seemed to be a giant moving lake out in the middle of no where. Where was it going? And how did it stay here without mountains to keep it in place? He almost started heading off before stopping himself to not abruptly leave the conversation he'd started with the orc. As he moved the reflection changed. As he stepped back to his original place it came back into view. Vanishing water? "Hey, what's going on here?" he questioned aloud as he moved back and forth to try and make sense of the phenomena.

[Alaina]

The decision of what the group should do and where they should go was continuing to go on and on with no real progress being made. And so, in order to figure out where they should go fully, they decided to step back and help explain just what both the Swamp and Desert actually were. And once they had, it seemed that the opinion was starting to sway more towards the desert, if only by one other persons' thought. Furthermore, while they were discussing their intended location it came to light that the group only actually had one healer, which made splitting up all the less desirable. Eventually, after one final vote, the group had finally decided both on not splitting up and going to the desert. Feeling slightly relieved that they were not splitting up, the Earth Chosen actually hadn't had a preference on to where they actually decided to go, but as she had declared that would be where she would go earlier, she felt as though she had locked herself into the decision.

 

Once it was all decided, the councilman seemed to acknowledge that they were ready to leave. As such, he had summoned a cloak for each of them, with the intent of giving them something to shield themselves from the sun's harsh rays once they were in the desert. Taking the cloak, the councilman then asked if they were in need of anything else before they were to take off for their journey. Naturally, like the others, she had asked for water as it was a vital part of any sort of long term journey. Then next, she had asked if they had something that she could store her armor in when not in use, and so the councilman gave her something. Finally, she asked how it was they were to use the cards they were given, to which the councilman just told her to give it to the vendor and if it was something the council covered it would take care of itself. With nothing more to ask from them, or more so not wanting to press them anymore, the Earth Chosen was finally read to disembark towards the desert.

 

---

 

The transporting to the desert was not a pleasant one. As the process started up, it felt as though they were starting to spin - no, rather that they were standing still. It was just that the entire world around them was spinning at an incredibly violent rate, causing her vision to bend and blur and giving quite the nauseating feeling to her. However, just as quickly as it had started it had soon come to an end. Once the transportation had finished, the girl managed to get her bearings and readjust to the scenery around her. Where they had ended up on was a bridge, one of the many that connected the separate islands together. The end that they were on was, of course, the one closest to the desert, and as such, the Earth Chosen was a bit taken by surprise by the view there. Sand was not unheard of in Haven, yet it wasn't something that people saw commonly. And so, to see a vast expanse of it, stretching as far as the eye could see was certainly new to the girl.

 

Then there was the second thing that hit her as fast the awe of seeing the infinite stretch of sand before her. And that was the heat. The sun shining brilliantly and unrelenting on the ground below it made its presence known almost immediately. The girl could feel the sweltering heat from it, only being worsened by the armor that she was wearing at the moment. And so, in order to shield herself from such a thing, she donned the cloak over top her body, and instantly felt a sense of relief wash over her as it blocked the heat as best as it could. Now with the sun not being as big an issue, though still not one to disregard, the Earth Chosen was ready to get moving along with everyone else.

 

Starting to walk off the bridge and following alongside everyone else, the water chosen spoke up, saying just "a day." It took the girl a few moments to realize that she was likely talking about how long they'd be traveling, and decided to trust her judgement on the matter, as she was completely unfamiliar with the area around them. As they continued walking, the Draken boy then seemed to be curious about something, claiming there was water in the distance. Curious herself, the girl looked over only to not see anything but flat land and some kind of ripple in the direction that the draken was looking. Of course, the more she looked, the more it seemed to simply be nothing but more sand, and the girl was left only more bewildered as the draken seemed to be completely confused at what it was he was looking at. "Um," said to him, "I don't think there's water over there." Though she was curious as to what it was that made the sand appear incredibly ripply in the distance.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Well, it was convenient, for one, to have the destination ended up being the desert.

 

Ileca couldn't really say that she enjoyed the entire mess so far. It's pretty stressing for both her and Anis, and with what she could understand from what Anis told her so far, she didn't have much left to live due to what the Council bound them to do. Ileca had long since accepted the fact she's going to die pretty soon, so it wasn't as distressing as it should be. However, even then, it's frustrating to just be tossed around by these pompous old people without regards. If she could, Ileca would've rampaged through the councilmen given any chance. But she held herself back. She didn't want to cause trouble for Anis now.

 

The desert sun was even more unforgiving than the sun of the plainsland she remembered, and even both Anis and Ileca was surprised by it at first. However, it was surprisingly easy to adapt to the environment for Ileca, and with her urging, Anis ended up sleeping on top of her as she walked with the rest of the group. Ileca would one hundred percent prefer if she's in a place where she could drink and eat as she pleased, but even in this condition, she felt that she's fine going without food or drink for a while. In the midst of the intense heat, she watched the draken-thing of the group pointed out to the distance, and perhaps saying that there were water over there or something. Ileca turned to look there, and didn't find anything interesting over there as far as she could see. It was hard to understand what these people were saying without Anis translating things for her, but with Ileca having years to observe people, she could make up what their expressions were conveying, and she concluded that some of them were skeptical about the water source.

 

In silence, Ileca moved to the side of the Draken and pecked his head, before looking at him disapprovingly.

 

It'd be awkward to deal with things without Anis, but for the sake of her rest, Ileca had to do things on her own for now. Although...where's the damn snake hiding now?

 

---

[Cherz]

"Desert? Ach! I'm too white for the sun." Ayden ended up spitting out upon hearing those words. He cast a concerned glance to Nocturne.

 

"The desert...well, we must cross that bridge sooner or later. Perhaps it is best we get it over with now. Not many shadows are cast there."  His spirit nonchalantly responded.

 

"Right...well then...so off to close the demon gates. I am sure this band of misfits being held together by a curse destined to kill us all will do a great job at that! Woo! Go team! Well, except you...Kaw? You're great. And Bri. You're also great." He waved his hand unenthusiastic in the air. 

 

"And you say I'm the cynical one. Is there any particular methods to your attitude? One second you're bragging about how great you are, the next you're preaching death." Nocturne inquired, in his signature monotone.

 

Ayden didn't respond to this. Instead, he simply approached the counsel and took his water flask. He put in a request for a black cloak, to help block the sun, and match his 'darkness chosen' image. The edgier the better. After receiving the rest of his goodies for their suicide mission, he fell back in line, clinging to Kha like a baby koala. 

 

---

 

The trip to the desert made Ayden nauseous. He almost threw up, all over Kha. However, he held it in. He forced himself to swallow his bile and focus. Sure enough, after what felt like an eternity of spinning, he was before the vast desert. Ahead of him, an eternal stretch of sand. The mere thought of traveling it was stressful. He was starting to think burning at the stake would be a less painful death than whatever await him. However, he shook that thought. He had to survive, and even prove his innocents. Despite the counsel being 'all powerful' and 'all knowing,' they were fools for branding him a criminal and treating him like one. He looked down to his shins, looking at the mark. It filled him with a sense of anger.

 

At around this time, the Fire Chosen approached Kha, completely ignoring him completely.

 

"Don't think we got the chance to ever really meet. I'm Reinaan Malyol, a Draken from Blagos. Thanks for the offer to travel with me even if we didn't end up splitting. Ready to take on this uh, dez-urt was it? I think that's how you say that."

 

"Desert. Close enough I guess. Ayden, by the way. Glad to meet another member of our suicide crew." Ayden chimed in, despite not being addressed. Just like that, he was off again, investigating a source of water. Ayden assumed it was a mirage Reinaan was talking about. This lizard should be better at handling a desert one would think. Didn't mirages only happen after sun exposure? Ayden shrugged it off. He was not the brightest by any means. He gave Kha a quizzical glance, but didn't speak.

 

Nocturne simply stood and watched, arms crossed. He grimaced at what was sure to come, and continued to brood on his own, not far behind Ayden.

[Ren✧]

Kha knew the desert by reputation, knew that it would cause the unprepared to wither in its vicious clutches. He could mend a broken bone and seal a cut, but Kha could not fix dehydration. The orc began to mull over the idea that their biggest threat may not even be the influence of the Demon Gate, but the environment itself. Kha asked to be set up with several canteens of water. He could carry them all against his large frame, and it would do them well to have extras. He took the cloak provided for him, though he suspected he would not have much use for it; orcs of his complexion rarely had to fear being burnt by the sun. Still, he would not go unprepared. 

 

Kal'bri hovered about her chosen, silent indignation emanating from her form. Kha thought about quickly reconciling with her, figured it would just make it easier for them all to be getting along. He opened his mouth to say something to the spirit, but was stopped by Ayden's words of praise. 

 

"Kaw? You're great. And Bri. You're also great." The orc heard the strange inflection that the human used with his name and thought about correcting him, but figured it was not terribly important at the moment. 

 

"You're right, I am great. It's about time someone noticed." Kal'bri said, practically spitting out the last half of her statement in Kha's direction. 

 

Fortunately, the orc did not need to come up with a response, as the group was transported to the desert moments later. Kha felt his stomach shift uneasily, reminding him of the time he had drank to much lünebrite. Fortunately, unlikely the memory of his past hangover, this sensation didn't last long. 

 

It was instead replaced by an overwhelming heat and a stifling dryness that Kha could only have imagined in a nightmare. They had arrived at the Solarus Desert. Looking at the vast waves of sand the rolled before him, he began to feel like maybe he hadn't brought enough water. What use was a few canteens against something this vast? He briefly looked down at Ayden, who had been keeping close to the orc ever since Kha had brought him back from the brink of death. "I did not know what to expect, but this is so much worse than I could've imagined." 

 

"Don't think we got the chance to ever really meet. I'm Reinaan Malyol, a Draken from Blagos. Thanks for the offer to travel with me even if we didn't end up splitting. Ready to take on this uh, dez-urt was it? I think that's how you say that." The Chosen of Fire addressed Kha. Almost immediately, Kal'bri flew off, refusing to talk with a dirty lizard. Kha paid her no mind. 

 

"Khadba Dulaga, born into the Eldris Tribe. Am now tribeless." Kha introduced himself just as he would to an orc of another tribe, bowing slightly to Reinaan. "You may call me Kha if you wish." Bringing his voice to a whisper, Kha continued. "You must pay the Light Spirit no mind. She does not know what she says." 

 

"Desert. Close enough I guess. Ayden, by the way. Glad to meet another member of our suicide crew." Ayden introduced himself to the draken, however, Reinaan quickly became distracted by something he saw far off into the desert. Kha met Ayden's quizzical look with a simple shrug. 

 

"This desert is a mysterious place." Kha said, turning to look at the large building behind them. It looked to be built like a fortress but no sound came from it that would indicate the presence of guards or warriors. 

 

"I do not have a good feeling about that place." 

[Sethera]

Stuff happened, they got cloaks, and while that was cool, Gilly was far more interested in other things. "So you said anything in your power? Can I get food? And drink? Nice cool spring water would be preferred, but I don't mind juice either. Also uhh some basic stuff like a sleeping bag in case it gets cold and maybe a magical item? Yeah, that'd be cool. Like one that tells us where we are. Oh wait maybe that's what a map is for. Well, something so we don't get lost, anyway." She continued to chatter but not much of it was very meaningful.

 

When they teleported to the desert Gilly's eyes went wide. She had never seen such a sight. Having been raised in the snowy mountain peaks up north, she had never been able to imagine a desert, even after having it described to her. This journey was already shaping up to be an adventure of a lifetime. "Man, this is so exciting, I'm raring to go--ooh, I'm hot," she fanned herself, gagging at the heat. "I've never been this hot in my life. Sheesh, I don't know how people live like this."

 

"You'd probably fare better if you stopped wasting your breath on nattering on so," Snow muttered to himself.

 

And then the dragon boy saw water. "I see it too!" the halfling chirped, running forward toward the shimmering water. She yelped in shock when it disappeared. "Wait, are my eyes going? I eat enough carrots I should be fine," she mused worriedly.

 

"Um, I don't think there's water over there."

 

"Wait, so what is that I'm seeing then?" Gilly turned to look at the pink-haired speaker. "If that's not water what is it? Oh wait! I know! Is it...dun dun duuun! A monster?! Disguised as water! Oh yeah, I'm so good, I figured it all out. Go me!"

 

Snow edged away from the halfling. "I don't know her," he told everybody. "We just happened to be in the same area through circumstance."

 

"Awww Snowy, you know you love me!" the girl hugged him aggressively, causing his eyes to bug.

 

Amidst the ice spirit's spluttered commands to let go, Hob stood in Kha's shadow, trying to obtain some shelter from the heat. His thick woolen coat, while a lifesaver in the cold north, was nothing more than a liability here in the desert.

[Hälō]

Lindow remained silent as the others talked amongst themselves. Surveying his surroundings, he sighed and cracked a half smile before smoothly fitting into his cloak. Truth be told, he was a tad disappointed that they hadn't traveled to the swamp, but perhaps something in this desert would serve to be entertaining...

 

"I do not have a good feeling about that place." He heard Kha's voice over Gilly's ramblings and the talk of mirages. Turning to observe the fortress looming behind the group, Lindow knew exactly why the Orc felt the way he did.  

 

"I wonder if anyone's even in there..." He finally spoke up before turning to face the rest of the group. "Shall we investigate?" Lindow said before peering off to the east. "Or do we want to head towards town?" He was truly indifferent. Having never visited this island before, Lindow was eager to see what this new land had to offer him...

 

 

[Alaina]

While the girl was all set and ready to begin wandering further into the desert in order to reach the town as quickly as possible. However, unlike the orc and the man with the eye patch, she had not picked up on the same kind of off feeling that they had. As such, she was wondering what it was that they meant when they were talking about a bad feeling from the building from behind them. Looking at them, it seemed like an average building made of stone that was likely occupied by the people who were to guard this bridge. While something like this sort of a checkpoint made sense to have here, and wasn't at all out of place, the Earth Chosen realized just what it was that made the others have their attention drawn to the building. There was no one near it. 

 

Whether it was just some kind of oversight by them, wanting to stay out of the desert sun for as long as possible or if it what was for a much more ominous reason was unknown to the girl. However, if something truly foul was in the works their, it would do the group well to know. As such, the girl looked to everyone and spoke up about what she thought on the matter. "Um, if there's something bad there, then um, we should probably find out about it. It would be really bad if uh, that bad thing trialed behind us, right?" While she was speaking her opinion on the matter, her voice did not seem to have much confidence behind it, thinking the others were likely to disagree with her on the matter. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres watched as the group settled into their sudden change of location with, relative, ease. It was good that none of them had any problems with the transition. Keres had read that sometimes teleportation could go horribly wrong and, especially at long distances, fling some of the people far away from the target. She pocketed the teleportation device, making sure to keep Lindow from noticing she had it, and stared at the building behind them.

 

It was large, with a single, metal, gate coated in some dark paint. Near the top of the building were a pair of slits in the wall and, as she watched, she noticed someone looking out towards them. However all she could see was a small bit of movement, due to the positioning of the pseudo-windows.

 

She heard Reinaan talking about water and she mumbled, almost to herself, but loud enough, in this quiet area, for others to hear. "Mirage. Don't trust desert heat." But she was more focused on the building at the moment and, it seemed, she wasn't alone.

"Um, if there's something bad there, then um, we should probably find out about it. It would be really bad if uh, that bad thing trialed behind us, right?"

 

Keres let out a relieved sigh. Good, she wasn't the only who noticed, besides Lindow. She strode forward, nerves making her heart pound, but intent on getting this over with. She paused at the door, unsure what to do, then began to knock.

The door slid open suddenly with a slight screeching sound and a pair of large men came out.

 

They didn't seem like what one would expect from soldiers. They wore a sort of cloth that covered their head and shoulders, as well as white cloth on their body, seemingly padded with something underneath. At their sides were a curved blade and they looked out at the group without speaking for a moment.

Then the one on the right spoke, voice muffled by the cloth that covered their head, and waved. "Greetings. You dropped in so suddenly we couldn't prepare a proper welcome but if you'd like, come in to the shade. This damn sun is a jabroni." He laughed and, as he nudged them, his companion laughed too. Though it sounded more stilted.

 

Keres was silent, just looking at them, taken aback at their sudden appearance, and trying to see beyond them into the, dark, room behind them. She could see nothing, however, as the pair were large enough to block her gaze entirely.

Above them a bird flew by, and she thought she had noticed it leaving the wall slit above them. She glanced over at the rest of her group, looking mutely and expressionless. "Your, er, leader seems pretty quiet, Giant Scorpion got her tongue? Ha, just kidding, that would be messy. C'mon no point in standing out here, in in."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Ileca continued to observe the people in Anis' group as they continued their way. They were seemingly talking to each other about something. Wait, did they just pass through a building? In the middle of the desert? That's supposed to be odd, no? One way or another, they had to reach their goal after all. Ileca couldn't really see any other places that could lead them to their supposed goal, and the desert was so far a whole bunch of nothing. Maybe a shade would be what the group need for now.

 

But before Ileca could do something reckless, one of the human girls decided to go forward towards the gates anyway, and she was greeted with two big men. They talked for a bit, and they're seemingly quite welcoming. Wait, why would strangers be welcoming them in this middle of goddamn nowhere? Ileca's not the type to trust others willy nilly, and it's pretty suspect that they got any sort of decent welcome after what happened to the group so far. Of course, that meant more reason to go inside. Ileca still felt that Anis was still fully asleep on her back, so she kept in mind that she shouldn't do things that were too reckless - no good if she woke her partner up, right? And so, she moved forward with confidence, and stared at the two men that stood before her.

 

"Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Squee squawk swak! (Make way to your majesty! Get ready to prepare the banquet for me!)"

 

It's not like they'd understand what she's saying. Most important thing here would be to establish her superiority over lesser beings. Ah, it's so nice! Ileca, the hottest bird even in the middle of this desert! Not even the sun could compare!

 

Looking full of herself after she issued her command, she continued to stare at the two men.

 

---

[Sethera]

At the guards' appearance Snow had quickly made himself scarce. He was naturally suspicious of strangers, and with good reason, it seemed. These two seemed shadier than the building itself. Not to mention the bird. Why was it leaving? Was it to send word of their arrival to the Council? Or did it have a more sinister meaning? To warn an enemy of their approach?

 

Even Hob, exhausted as he was by the heat, was suspicious. He was also curious about Ileca, who seemed a lot like his partner with her natural arrogance and focus on food.

 

The only one who took everything at face value was Gilly. "Ehhhh it's cooler inside? Wooow thank you, thank you! It's so hot out here!" despite her apparent intolerance, she seemed just as energetic as usual, though if one looked closely they would see beads of sweat starting to form on her skin. "And what's a giant scorpion? Is it big cuz it's giant? Do you think we'll see one out here? Who's our leader? Is that pointy-hat girl? Why are you dressed like that? Is it comfortable? Should we dress like that too then? Is there food inside?" She made to step forward, ignoring Snow's muttered warning. "Oh yeah, let's go inside, guys! There's probably food and I'm starving!" she shouted to the others of the group. Never mind the fact she had recently ate.

[Hälō]

"Greetings. You dropped in so suddenly we couldn't prepare a proper welcome but if you'd like, come in to the shade. This damn sun is a b****." Llindow watched in silence as the two men greeted the group. Nothing about the pair screamed soldier, and their behavior was just generally suspicious... 

 

His attention was briefly stolen by the bird that slipped out of the building through a slit above the group's heads. "Oh, thats a good sign..." Lindow mumbled sarcastically just before the "soldier" continued to speak.  

 

"Your, er, leader seems pretty quiet, Giant Scorpion got her tongue? Ha, just kidding, that would be messy. C'mon no point in standing out here, in in."

 

"Ehhhh it's cooler inside? Wooow thank you, thank you! It's so hot out here! And what's a giant scorpion? Is it big cuz it's giant? Do you think we'll see one out here? Who's our leader? Is that pointy-hat girl? Why are you dressed like that? Is it comfortable? Should we dress like that too then? Is there food inside?  Oh yeah, let's go inside, guys! There's probably food and I'm starving!" His gaze narrowed slightly as Gilly stepped closer to the two men. If his suspicions were correct, things could get dangerous very quickly. 

 

 

"It is pretty hot..." Lindow chirped whilst smoothly placing himself between Gilly, Keres and the two men. Under his cloak, Lindow's right hand rested on one of his daggers, as his eye settled intently on the two men. "Did the soldiers that were stationed here die from the heat? Or was it something worse?" He spoke casually, almost as if he were asking something trivial. 

 

[Andx]

Some introductions were made while Reinaan occupied himself trying to make sense of the strange water he thought he was seeing out on the desert. People proposed various ideas including some word "mirage". He'd never heard of anything like that. In the middle of all of that the Chosen of Nature's large bird pecked him on the head. It wasn't particularly painful given the protective scales but it was still plenty annoying. The lizard swiped above his head but the bird had moved on quickly. The Chosen of Nature herself appeared to be passed out on her bird's back. At this point Reinaan was becoming quite aggravated with her. He hadn't done anything to her and yet she and her bird both seemed to dislike him for no reason.

 

"Reiny are you okay?" Ziiyol said as she finally focused in on what was happening with the group. The sun's brilliance had been quite enjoyable for her and had been the object of her attention. Reinaan merely grumbled some in response which elicited a laugh from his partner. The group seemed to shift focus to the building behind them rather than the desert itself. The Draken moved with the group toward the building, taking a moment to appreciate how the cloak about his body moved and flowed as he did so.

 

Upon reaching the door a pair or large men greeted the group commenting on the heat and inviting them inside. Chosen of Fire and Fire Spirit alike had been very comfortable thus far with the heat in the area but the others seemed to not like it as much. Perhaps stopping by inside wouldn't hurt. The halfing he had fought with pillows the night before appeared to be eager to go inside and Reinaan quickly moved toward the front of the group to follow her in. "How can you still be hungry?" he asked the girl curiously. She'd eaten quite a lot of the council's food. Enough that Reinaan probably wouldn't have to eat for the rest of the week. And yet she claimed to already be starving again.

 

It was as Reinaan was practically on his way through the doorway he heard Lindow speak up. He turned around to face his fellow chosen, turning his back to the men. What he was saying sounded weird. Talking about soldiers stationed here but wasn't that who these men who'd opened the door were? "Something worse? Lindow what are you talking about?" he said vocalizing his confusion. Ziiyol was about as unaware her attention caught up again in admiring the sun and warmth here.

[Alaina]

Upon the group coming to the consensus that the building was suspicious, they all decided to start heading their way towards it. While they continued to get closer and closer still, nothing about the state of the building changed, only causing her nerves to start growing more and more. As they got to the door, the water chosen had gone to knock on it, causing the suspense of the situation to go on further and further until finally the door slowly and steadily creaked open. Inside the girl noticed that there were a few other people garbed in some kind of cloth with strangely curved swords, all of which seemed to be staring right at the group. There was a slight pause of awkward silence that passed before one of the soldiers seemed to speak up, greeting them. As he gestured for them to come in and make what appeared to be some kind of a joke about the sun, though the girl didn't really find much humor in it, the water chosen looked to the group with a very concerning expression. The earth chosen wasn't great at reading people, but it was almost entirely clear that she probably thought there was something wrong with the situation.

 

Thinking that it would just be best to dismiss themselves now instead of continuing on with it, the girl started to open her mouth when the bird like mount of the nature chosen strode through, squawking. Surprised by the sudden attitude of the bird, she wondered if it too thought there was something odd here, as she wouldn't have known why else it would suddenly start voicing itself. The half-ling then made their opinion on the matter known and wanted nothing more than to start eating more in this place, to which the earth chosen was only then confused by their sudden outburst and wondered what it was that went through their head at any given moment. Shortly following that, Lindow, as he was named by others, asked what it was that had killed the soldiers here.

 

The girl was briefly confused as to what he meant, as the soldiers were there, when it dawned on her what he was implying. Looking at them, they seemed to bear a distinctive difference between the templars they had seen back at the tower and seemed to have a different kind of covering over them then the cloaks they were provided with from the council. Seeing now that Lindow was accusing them of being completely different people then the ones stationed here, and while she felt as though she couldn't leap to conclusions, she was now far more wary than before. To this effect, she simply kept on the lookout for how it was they'd respond to Lindow's accusation.

[Ren✧]

The orcish way of thinking was to identify the suspicious building and then avoid it. Kha had thought this would be obvious it. Just like in battle a warrior would avoid the most dangerous terrain. It made the most strategic sense. It was common sense. And yet, Kha found himself stunned into silence as the rest of the group moved to enter the outpost. The Chosen of Water went to the door, provoking a group of men armed with scimitars to emerge. Immediately, Kha's eyes narrowed and his grip on his sword tightened. 

 

Their words seemed friendly enough, but still the situation seemed off. The orc had been raised in warfare, seen his fair share of ambushes and traps. This felt all too familiar. He wasn't the only that was suspicious it seemed, the One-Eyed One appeared to be just as skeptical. He immediately confronted the men with his thoughts. Kha nodded in Lindow's direction.

 

"Actually," Kal'bri spoke up, addressing the man that had spoke, "I am the leader of this group. After you spend a few moments with these idiots, you'll see that none of them are fit to lead." Clearly, she hadn't picked up on the same warning signs that Kha and Lindow had. "Now, you'll have to remove those rags if you want to continue to address me. I just cannot be bothered to strain my ears to hear your garbled voice." 

 

Kha was content to let her talk. He figured she could not do any real harm and the longer that she talked, the longer that Kha could evaluate these men. Not that there was much information that could be gathered. The cloth wrappings that they wore seemed to be uneven in some places, making Kha think that maybe they were wearing armor. Of course, it would have to be a light set, probably leather. He could easily cleave through it with Derg-veras Mora if the situation escalated. They didn't appear to be armed with anything other than their scimitars, but Kha figured they could have weapons stashed within the folds of their wrappings.

 

"Do you have information on the Demon Gate?" Kha felt like there was no reason to stay and fight if they could just get the information they needed and leave. There was no telling if there were more men that they couldn't see.   

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Keres intended to deny the idea that she was a leader of any sorts when the big bird decided to come into the scene and, well, that just got her all kinds of uncertain. The species was not entirely familiar to her and she didn't know how intelligent these animals were so it was difficult to gauge if her, seeming, trust of these two would be misplaced.

 

The soldiers had a different reaction to the bird. The silent one seemed to tense up, a hand moving to his face, where, if one were to focus on the small slit in the cloth covering his face, a scar of some kind could be seen. The nudge from his companion, who was looking at the bird curiously, seemed to draw him out of his thoughts.

And that's when the Halfling went to take them up on their offer. The soldier who had spoken moved slightly to the side to let her through, but she was held back by her rather dour companion.

 

"Did the soldiers that were stationed here die from the heat? Or was it something worse?"

 

The silent soldier, on the right, grunted with something that sounded like outrage but the other began speaking before anything else could occur between him and Lindow.

Rather he tried to speak but then the Draken suddenly piped up, clearly not taking Lindow's words seriously, and turned his back on the two soldiers. The soldier on the right looked at the smaller figure and the one on the left laughed humorlessly. "Well that's...quite the rude question. Yeah the heat killed some of our companions but I don't see why that would make a difference. Wouldn't that just prove how you really need to get inside?"

 

When the Spirit of Light spoke up, showing herself to the two, the talkative soldier seemed to be taken aback. He recovered quickly but Keres noticed the strange attitude. Were they not told of their arrival? Shouldn't they have expected such a being as the Spirit?

"Do you have information on the Demon Gate?"

"Oh sheet" the soldier muttered, a sort of amused surprise in his voice.

"Should have been told..." Keres said, her accusation trailing off as Ayden suddenly toppled over, seemingly due to some form of heat stroke, and she glanced over towards him.

 

Thus she missed the actions that suddenly followed. The soldier on the right gave a nod to the silent one on the left. Then the left soldier lurched forward and grabbed onto Reinaan, pulling a knife out from under the cloth that covered his head, shoulders, and part of his chest, and brought it to the Draken's neck.

The other soldier gave a sigh. "You really should have just came inside. It'd be a lot less uncomfortable for all of us. But if you want your friend not to wind up vulture food I think you should take off all your equipment, everything, and leave. Maybe, just maybe, you can reach the city without dying. Either that or lizard-boy gets a whole new hole to breath from."