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Hear all citizens! King Gonagas, the Lord of this land and the Defender of the people, has sent out a decree to all cities, towns and villages; to all who are now living within the boundaries of the Kingdom. Hear the words of your King!

From King Mikill Gonagas to all ready and able who are willing to take up arms in defence of the Realm,

The Kingdom is facing a threat from the surrounding countries and the lands round about it which requires immediate action. To protect the freedom of the people, I, the King, will send a dispatch of the Royal Guard joined with all the volunteers who are given a rank in the Guard, on a pre-emptive quest to strengthen the position of the Kingdom and our ability to defend it.

Report at the gates of Helsset, the City of the King, before the harvest season begins.

May the hand of The Guardian be over us all.

This was the tidings the messenger came with. You are a person of remarkable skill and talent in your art be it swordsmanship, controlling the supernatural and the elements, stealth, alchemy or any other craft. Regardless of the questions and doubts the strange and unexpected open call aroused, you answered and left for Helsset. Whether it was glory or adventure, title or rank, revenge or revolution. You had your reasons.

You met a group of other volunteers in the previous village you traveled through, the village of Giron - the last at least somewhat politically meaningful village on this streak before arriving to Helsset. Since Giron, you have been traveling together as a party. That was three days ago.

---

It is a sunny day just before midday. A small group of men and women who heeded the call of the King have walked steadily towards their destination since sunrise. They had a breakfast before packing the camp and a lunch while walking. In a week they would begin their training with the Royal Guard.

As the group descends from the Giron Plateau through the Rocky Gate, a beautiful and peaceful view opens before them. Protected by a grayish brown mountain range in the West and another in the North, a vast green field expands towards South making a gentle slope towards the Western shore of Lake Guhkki. In the protecting embrace of the mountains, this isolated place strikes with a clear aura of peace and idyllic, simple lifestyle. One could wonder how it is possible considering it's position as place everyone passes through on their way to Helsset.

Further towards South there is a waterfall raging down from the mountains into a large, dense mixed tree forest. It starts a river that streams through the forest and the field in a Northeast direction into the lake; first coming out from the forest as a minor rapid, then calming down to a rather calm river.

Along the river in the distance of a couple of miles they see the picturesque farmer village of Avveel - the village where they would stay over the night and restock for the remaining journey to Helsset. It is surrounded by fields on both sides of the river. There are not many out working now since it is a time for a longer break. Still they can see a few dots working for the bread of the village and it's guests. The sky is clear and a gentle wind is sweeping over the lands in refreshing waves. Far on the other side of Lake Guhkki, mighty rocky hills rise towards the skies.

In a shouting distance towards the Northern mountain range on the left side of the gravel road to the village there is a young boy. He is walking back and forth, investigating the ground around the bigger and smaller rocks and boulders. Clearly he is looking for something.

Steven walked on the rocky plateau, taking in the scenery. As he trudged onwards, his eyes moved disinterestedly between rock formations. With each step, he felt the hefty weight of the load on his back and felt the shape of his dad's halberd indenting itself into his shoulder. Dragging around a full set of plate armour would weigh on anyone quite heavily; though Steven had always been quite strong. Nevertheless, it was somewhat tiring walking all day carrying a heavy load. If not physically, then mentally.

At least I managed to make it stop clanking every step. He thought.

By any farmer's standards, today was a good day. The sun shone from high above, baking the surrounding mountains, but a cool breeze blew to cool it down, creating a wonderful equilibrium of temperatures any farmer could appreciate. The sun was good for crops, and you worked up a sweat while you worked. When you stopped, the cool breeze would tickle your spine and you'd cool down a little before you started working again. The scenery had remained quite samey for the past few hours, however, and Steven wanted something else to look at.

As Steven walked with the group, he surmised that travelling was somewhat like farm work despite their differences. Long hours of repetitive actions straining your physical prowess in order to achieve some sort of goal, although one difference is you don't normally get paid for travelling. Another way that farm work differed from travelling is that you'd typically be friendly with who you were working with, and you might chat after a long day of work. That wasn't really the case here.

The group Steven was travelling with was kind of quiet. They had pretty varied personalities, of course, but no one was extremely talkative. Maybe it was just the long distances they'd been travelling, but there was a sort of awkward tension in the group, likely stemming from the fact that they were a group of strangers who have the same destination but different goals and motivations. Everyone was older than him, for one, even though one didn't have the height to seem so. It made it a little awkward for him. Some were certainly amiable, but he found he didn't talk very much with them regardless as he had little to relate to.

"Oh look, we're almost there." Steven said to the group, more for speaking's sake than anything.

Steven stopped by the plateau edge and peered out at their destination. Avveel. He could see farmers working in their fields and children playing in the streets. Out in the distance he could see a river snake from a lake, disappearing into a dense forest which housed a waterfall the river likely came from. Behind the waterfall, Steven could see even more mountains, stretching to who knew where. Avveel was situated in quite a pretty area, ringed by nature and high mountains. Steven closed his eyes and breathed deeply as the breeze rolled in.

"Hm..." He said contemplatively. "You know what, this is kinda the same as where I come from."

Truth be told, his home town and Avveel were very similar as both were isolated towns which mainly focused on agricultural pursuits. He could smell certain things on the wind, and the scene overall reminded him of home.

"Well, not completely the same." He said, staring on. "Different scenery and stuff."

Indeed, while Steven's home town was near a mountain, Avveel was practically ringed by mountains whereas Steven's home town was closer to a big plain. Furthermore, the fresh alpine scent from the surrounding mountains made Avveel's atmosphere feel somewhat different.

Steven turned, mindful of his heavy load, and began to continue walking.

"Ah well, there's probably more to it." He said.

The group could probably guess the things he'd observed, but he figured it would be nice to say stuff once in a while, add some colour to travelling. It'd been fairly boring, and pretty tiring.

"It'd be nice to go down and grab some food, catch a break and maybe get a bed for the first time in a while." Steven said as he walked with the group. "Guess we could all use some rest."

He continued his banter as they neared a rocky archway, seemingly as a gate. He managed to get to the front of the group.

"See the sights and see where we need to..."

Steven stopped and looked ahead. There seemed to be someone ahead looking for something in the rocks. It was curious as to what someone would lose in a place like this; perhaps they were delivering something and it got lost on the way.

"Hey, looks like that guy might want some help." Steven said, pointing him out. "Do you guys think we should?"

Lyra was at the edge of the group, just trudging along, staying relatively silent as she headed towards the young boy.

Of course, she could go at a much faster pace than what she had already, but between the slow, repetitive plodding and the nice, cozy sunshine, it was a struggle to stay awake even at a runner's pace. That, and it'd startle the poor boy.

So she plodded along, before deciding to sit on top of a relatively large boulder. It was about a good 10 yards away from the boy, but also a good 100 yards away from where the rest were setting up.

"Child! Are you in need of assistance?" she called as she cupped her hand over her brows, so as to make a visor over her brows. With her left hand, she began to unbutton the first few buttons at the top and bottom of her shirt, so as to let her rather sweaty body cool off. He was but a lad, and modesty was certainly becoming less and less of an issue if everyone was to go into training soon enough.

She'd certainly have to re-learn how to wield a greatsword again. A simple five years can undo too many decades, so it would seem.

Abel rolled a small pebble inside his mouth from cheek to cheek, trying to mask his discontent with his odd dwarvish habit. The trip had not been very delightful thus far. They had been kept on a very strict schedule-- leaving positively no time to relax and (most importantly) socialize. The poor members of his party did not seem to be as accustomed to traveling as Abel was, either. He ascertained this to be the reason why nobody seemed capable of socializing whilst walking.

He’d hoped to make friends on this trip, but three days in and nobody had so much as said "good morning". He’d paid such acute attention when everyone provided his or her names. Perhaps he should just forget them, along with any hope of friendship. He had attempted to strike up many conversations, but he knew how to take social cues and he’d sooner die than make a poor first impression.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of this whole situation was that the majority of the group was female. Of course, he meant this in the most positive sense of the word. The only other guy in the group was just barely a man. Abel knew what that meant. He inwardly sighed and tipped his brown felt hat as he glanced up at the clear blue sky. With so many beautiful women so ripe for the picking, how was he supposed to choose one?

First there was Illumina-- long brown hair and stunning blue eyes. She had what most people would call “a rockin’ bod.” The scar on her face added a sort of mystic to her persona… it kinda made him wonder what sort of scars she might have under her clothes (harr harr). She was a bit hard to read, but Abel got the impression she might be one of those hard-to-get sort of girls. Not that he considered that a problem. He loved a challenge almost as much as he loved easy pickings.

Second, there was Elisha. She had a sort of dark mystic all of her own—and he wasn’t just talking about her skin. She was small-- cute, even. He’d idly wondered what she might look like with longer hair and something other than that ghastly brown cloak that was completely obstructing his view of the form fitting leather underneath. Nonetheless- much like Illumina, she was quite the difficult read. Oddly enough, he could not see the two as being very similar. He couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Then there was Baroness Kristen Sallis. As a married woman-- and mother, no less-- she wore both titles exquisitely well. Even so, fawning over her was much like fawning over a bone in the mouth of a bear. Abel would be lying if he said he hadn’t asked himself whether or not she was happily married, but even he knew better than to touch another man’s lady-- especially a baron’s. "Forbidden fruit, so sweet to eat while death is nipping at thy feet"... some stupid rhyme he'd heard back in the village.

Lastly there was Lyra. Of all the women present, the beautiful, curvaceous Lyra had piqued the most of his interest. This was not for reasons founded in lust (well… maybe a little), but more for the fact that she was both an elf and uncharacteristically short. One look at Lyra’s body would quickly dispel any suspicions of her still being a child. He wondered if she happened to be an albmot, like him. Not having had an opportunity to speak with her beyond introductions, however, he had no idea. He wondered if it was obvious to the other members of his group whether or not he himself was an albmot. She had not shown any animosity towards him upon meeting, so either she was just like him or didn't mind half-breeds.

“Hey, looks like that guy might want some help,” Steven said, breaking Abel's train of thought. Oh GODS! How long had he been talking? Abel anxiously glanced at each of the members of his group. They’d started talking and he’d completely missed it! Had any of the girls said anything? Lyra?

That was when he noticed Lyra already making her way towards a young boy, searching for something among the rocks and boulders just off the path. This was his chance— Dwarven Gods be damned if he was going to watch it go by just like that!

“I think we should definitely help the poor kid out,” he nodded, stepping (almost a little too quickly) in Lyra’s direction. He quickly caught himself and continued to casually follow her. “Did you lose something?” he asked, following Lyra’s question as he neared.

Ah, the blue sky! The ever more familiar star constellations! The warmer climate! How she missed all that, during her long five years of adventuring in the North. Of course, it isn't her homeland yet-the ever present mountains all around, the still cold nights and, no doubt, snowy winters(Guardian, she hoped she won't have to stay here until winter!) were all marks of yet-temperate, northern climate. But, should one travel further south, the mountains would soon give way to hills, the fields would give way to savannas and deserts and the foreign cities, wooden houses, wide, dirt roads and triangular rooftops would give way to familiar, southern architecture. The pale, tall, often multi-racial people of these land would be replaced by tanned, raven haired humans of the South…and her status as warrior of Guardian Rose would be recognized and honored.

However, before that time comes, there was a one final quest she decided to undertake. Helsset..she heard some contradictory, disturbing "rumors" about this place, it's people and it's king, and she was actually considering visiting anyway, to check things out and investigate. By a lucky coincidence, however, she was officially invited by King Gonagas himself, to join Royal Guard nonetheless! However, how much of it was luck, and how much was someone's intention, remains to be seen....as a warrior of her order, she is obliged to fight evil whenever encountered…and this situation was no exception from this rule, no matter how homesick she felt, no matter how much to report she already had. To think that some of their sisters would actually sell their skills like that...

Such thoughts plagued Elisha throughout most of the journey with her current group. Usually she wasn't very social anyway-never bonding with potential comrades(or enemies!) more then it's necessary. People die all the time, and some might even have to die by her own sword...therefore, bonding is pointless. Still, most of the time she tried, at very least, to be civil-greeting people, offering help with mundane problems, or at least inquiring about their basic interests and occupations just to avoid being perceived as rude or cold-hearted-was her usual routine. This time, however, she didn't do even that-walking on the side, lost in her memories and suspicions.

I need to be more social she decided, almost voicing her thought out loud. Her current group counted six people-all of whom received same message from the King, all on the same quest-therefore, her future comrades in arms. It would be wrong to make a wrong impression any further.
That being said, they hardly looked like mercenaries she was used to. There was a young man who seemed to carry heavy arms-but could someone his age really be an experienced fighter? Yet, appearances deceive, and she was no older than him when she started her journey-she shouldn't underestimate him, and, at very least, he seemed to be an honest lad. She valued people who do not go out of their way to hide their hearts and thoughts, although, unfortunately, she didn't count among them.

Which can't be said about other companions. The Albmot doesn't seem to be heavy armed-possibly, he's some sort of magician. Unlike some of her fellow cultists, Elisha didn't hold much prejudice against those who wield magic-understanding that only certain kinds are evil-but experience thought her to be wary against anyone who dabbled in arcane arts anyway. Of course, it's also possible that he's some sort of assassin, or martial artist, or perhaps his equipment awaits him at their destination, and thus her suspicions are baseless. Honestly, she silently wished it so.

Then there was Lyra, the mountain elf. Her people are known to be skilled at arcane-and indeed, with her gentle beauty there is no way she doesn't either. Does she dabble in alchemy? Is she a summoner? Or perhaps it's...something else? Elisha wanted to ask, but then, perhaps that would be too intrusive. She'll learn in time....
In fact, the mixed-breed(Abel, was that his name?) and the elf seem to have both picked interest with some young man on the edge of the road…perhaps it was a good opportunity to get to know them a little bit. Elisha limped behind them, keeping enough distance to overhear the conversation without actually joining it.

The human boy stopped his search for a moment and looked towards the strangers @BytheSpleen@Baklava with his curious brown amber decorated eyes. He rose up from his knees and stood up behind a rock. His body seemed childishly skinny but he looked healthy. He had short, somewhat messy reddish brown hair and wore simple, loose clothes. His cotton pants were tied around his waist with a cord and the slightly big shirt was open to his chest.

Timid, he looked around to see if there was anyone else besides the who had spoken. When he saw a third person @nrtashi approaching he took a step behind the rock for safety. He fastened his eyes on Steven @Lord Santa and stopped moving. After a moment of being still and silent, barely audible to Lyra she being closest to him, he said: "I am looking for a flower to Mommy. She needs one."

After a moment of continued staring at Steven he slowly began to look the ground around the rocks and boulders again. Then he seemed to relax and forget about the strangers that had just arrived and taken him from his important search.

His companion's answers had answered Steven's question as they moved ahead to see what troubled the boy. Steven continued walking at his normal pace, however, as he was sure they wouldn't need him, and he didn't know the boy. Looking at the boy as he reacted to the presence of two members of the party, he was reminded of his little brother Sam. One of a pair of twins, the other also called Sam (female, however), and both were the youngest in the family. The boy looked fairly different to Sam, but his clothes and stature matched the troubled boy. Comparing the two, Steven made an amused snort as the traits matched up.

As if in reaction, the boy hid behind a rock, as if for safety. Steven involuntarily stopped mid-step, wondering if he'd done something wrong. The boy turned to stare at him and Steven stood awkwardly, one foot poised in the air uncertainly. The boy stared at Steven silently for a moment before whispering to Lyra, the mountain elf.

Steven slowly lowered his foot, but as the boy looked to him once again, he stopped, foot almost touching the ground. Eventually, the boy stopped staring and began to continue his mysterious hunt, with as much zeal as before. Steven put his foot down and watched the boy with raised eyebrows as he continued searching for something. Steven was perplexed. Perplexed and curious.

Steven slowly walked up to Lyra, avoiding the weird boy a little, and asked the mountain elf a question.

"Hey, uh... Lyra?" He started awkwardly. "What'd that kid say?"

@Lord Santa

Lyra's ear twitched at the question, and slightly tilted her head towards his direction. For the longest of moments, though, she stood silent. Her eyes, two matte sapphires resting inside alabaster orbs, peered at the grasslands and boulders around them for things like oily-slick skin, or fur. The boy had reason to be cautious, but not by their arrival, it would seem.

"His mother needs a flower of some sort," she said at a slightly quieter tone. "...don't step on any if you see them; it might be used to cure an ailment."

Her eyes then rested on the boy.

"...what color is it?" she asked softly, as she shifted closer and got to her knees. "...is your mother sick?"

Illumina walked with the group, staring out across the path looking at the mountains and the farmers, her cloak billowing slightly in the wind. Truly a sight to behold, at-least compared to what she was used to. She'd never traveled this far south, not much to steal from farmers and the like after all.

She eye'd the others in her group which was mostly composed of females, something that struck her as quite odd.

First there was Lyra, a mountain elf. Rather short by elven standards, she thought. Nevertheless it was quite apparent she wasn't young to match her height. She noticed no weapons, probably practiced magic, same assumption went to two others in her group.

The Albmont Abel and the Baroness, Kristen.

Abel struck her as rather odd, he looked part elf and part dwarf, and carried no visible weapons which is what lead her to think he practiced magic of some kind. Dwarves weren't exactly known to be smart folk, she figured if he did practice magic he got it from his elven side.

Kristen she wasn't sure of, she had to be stronger than she looked or practiced magic, otherwise it just seemed foolish to her that the Baron would let her strike out on a adventure cross country with a group of randoms. Though..she figured if she could become friends with the Baroness perhaps she'd invite her over to their place one day for lunch, and to 'appropriate' a few things.

Then there was Elisha, she looked strong, quite obviously a warrior judging by the sword and armor. Both of which looked valuable, very valuable.

Then there was Steven, who was the only other male in the group aside from Able and quite obviously a warrior of some kind, though he mentioned he was a farmer, so a...warrior farmer? She couldn't help but grin at the thought of an enraged farmer swinging that giant halberd at birds and the like to get them off the crops.

Truly a diverse group, her herself being an assasin for hire, or thief, whichever paid more at any given time. She continued walking down the path with the others, arms stretched behind her back, taking in the sights in awe as if she was a young child again.

Where she came from, you didn't see things like this. You saw slums, hobos, and the occasional sewer rat. So, compared to that, this was another world entirely.

She half listened to Steven talking about how similar this was to where he was from, she wondered how different her life would be if she was raised as a farmer somewhere like this. Probably more boring, but somehow better.

Her thoughts drifted, eventually Steven spoke up about a boy looking for something. She shrugged inwardly, "Sure, why not, nothing much else to do" she spoke, though she wasn't the first to walk over, she slowly followed the rest.

She missed the initial conversation with her slow pace, though catching the repeat. A flower huh? Interesting, kids mom must be sick or something. She listened silently as Lyra questioned him further, arms behind her back. Perhaps actually helping someone aside from killing or stealing would be a nice change of pace, break the monotony at the least.

Abel observed the young boy with almost as much curiosity as the boy seemed to observe Steven. The boy seemed oddly apprehensive. He wondered if they knew each other. Having heard that Steven grew up as a farm boy, however, he deemed it very unlikely. Perhaps he was just intimidated by Steven's freakish height, Abel thought jealously.

"His mother needs a flower of some sort," Lyra told Steven quietly, "...don't step on any if you see them; it might be used to cure an ailment."

Abel found himself rolling his boots to the side and passing a quick glance behind him to ensure he hadn't offended any flowers or, more importantly, Lyra. That was when he noticed Illumina casually approaching. She seemed somewhat disinterested. Not that he could blame her. If this child's mother was sick and needed some medicinal sort of flower, it seemed rather unlikely he was going to find it here. Even so, he welcomed the opportunity to socialize with this band of strangers he had thus far been traveling with... even if it meant squatting in the dirt to look for flowers.

He dropped to a crouched position beside Lyra and held one side of his hat down so as to better block the sun. He squinted at the surrounding area-- seeing, of course, no flowers in sight. "You wouldn't happen to know what type of flower it is, would you?" Abel asked, feigning interest.

Elisha sighted. As much kind and non-agressive as she tried to appear, the armor and sword probably worked against her. The kid hid the moment she approached! Maybe she should have traveled in civil clothes, like Steven did..but, this world is a dangerous place. It would be unwise to disarm during long journey through the wilderness up to here..and, given her stature and gender, she looked like an easy target to anyone who doesn't know any better.

"I give up" she thought "I don't care about some farm kid at all. Besides, my mission is to fight monsters and evil magicians, not socialize with these people I am grouped with...there will be plenty of occasions to..get to know them if we do end up doing the same thing anyway". With this conviction, she turned around, almost bumping into Illumina.

Oh, sorry. Didn't notice that you where so close behind me.

Now then...compared to the other companions, Illumina was a whole different story. Like Steven, she was both armed and pretty young, yet the impression either of them made was radically different. She seemed...in control of her every movement, professional, deadly..there was no doubt that she is above an average mercenary, and that she cannot be underestimated.
Elisha respected such people. The question is, whether Illumina used these skills for the sake of good or evil...unfortunately, it would probably be naive to presume the former. Still, again, it's not her problem...there are evil and opportunistic people everywhere. Who counts, who needs to be eliminated, are evil mages, demons, necromancers....against such corruption, even a greedy mercenary might be a valuable ally, and indeed, Elisha had fought arm-to-arm with people with completely different morals on more then one occasion.

We haven't been introduced properly yet, have we? Name's Elisha Veer. Nice to meet you!

The boy carefully eyed his surroundings. The rocky, dry ground by the mountain side wasn't exactly the place where one would expect to find a flower. When Lyra suddenly came to his level he seemingly jumped a bit again; as if she had pulled him out mid-thought. "What color is it? Is your mother sick?", she asked him. When Abel came down he actually turned to look at them again. "You wouldn't happen to know what type of flower it is, would you?"

Still a bit apprehensive but not equally troubled as before the thin built boy looked down to his now dusty and dirty bare feet. Under his breath he said, "Mommy is not sick. She is very, very sad." The boy lifted his eyes towards Steven that now stood next to Lyra. "I wanted to find a detèmine. I heard from the shoemaker that he had see one somewhere here by the gate. It is lavender, almost white." The timid voice began to tremble slightly as he again turned to continue his search behind another, this time a bigger boulder that cast a shadow around it's root.

@BytheSpleen@Baklava@Lord Santa

Lyra looked down and checked her feet. Surely, she'd be in trouble if she were to be the one to fail the boy, but...well...there was something off. He was so thin, and he seemed of age to work the fields. His mother was very sad, but...well, it could also be said that she might be sad enough to fail to care for the crops and the like...including the child here.

And regarding her teaching politics to her aristocratic charges in the past...

Is the child that of a soldier's?

Perhaps. She wasn't too sure, but there was a possibility things had escalated faster than she thought.

But damn her if she didn't help a child. Before there was necromancy, one had to sense life snd the spirits. The latter, she couldn't dabble in, but suppose if she just...felt for any difference, any stronger feedback that a flower would have over any grass...that was possible, right?

She had 24 years under her belt. This should be a cinch, right?

Steven was slightly guarded as the boy responded, but as the boy explained, Steven slowly raised his eyebrow. It was clear that the kid was wary of them, which made sense. They were complete strangers, after all. What didn't really make much sense, however, was what exactly the kid wanted to do with the flower, and also why exactly he was telling people about him trying to find it. Well, sort of.

What the boy said was clear enough, but it was what he wasn't saying that sent mixed messages. What was the point of telling a group of complete strangers that he was looking for a flower? If Steven were the boy's age, he would've just hid behind a rock and waited for them to pass or told them about his problem if they seemed trustworthy. While the boy hid behind the rock, he also told them about his problem, which was pretty confusing. Did he want their help, or was he just telling them for the hell of it? What did he want with them.

As the boy jumped behind another boulder, Steven had time to ponder the flower that the boy had mentioned. Unlike many complicated names, Steven had heard of it once or twice. Steven's mother was a herbalist, and he'd heard from her that detèmine was a pretty rare flower, as it grew in the mountains. It was pretty expensive, and they hadn't had many since it was so rare. The fact that it grew in the mountains made it naturally sparse, as there was hardly any soil and if it grew in the wrong position, it would be exposed to the elements. The exact use of the particular flower eluded him, however, as he hadn't been paying attention that much at the time.

Steven looked around at the ground nearby. The well beaten track was mostly absent of any sort of plant life, seeds that may have potentially bloomed being stomped underfoot. Besides that, the ground on the road was fairly thin, much of it becoming fixed on the shoes of travelers like himself. He knew through his farming experience that, pretty obviously, the road was pretty inhospitable for plant life in general. No plants on the road, or near the road.

Steven looked over to where the kid was searching the rocks. An idea with more potential, but still with a couple of problems. Flowers needed regular sunlight and protection from the elements (or so his mother said). While the rocks provided protection, if positioned incorrectly, it could deprive the flower of sunlight. Combine that with the previous factors, and it meant that a place to grow such a delicate flower was hard to find. There were a lot of potential spots in the area, and while it wouldn't exactly be painful to look through them all, there was the fact that they were meant to be going somewhere.

Steven stood and thought for a moment before looking to the rest of the group. Lyra had begun focusing intensely, and Steven wondered what she was doing.

Well... She's probably helping. Steven thought. Maybe.

Steven shrugged and turned to the rest of the group.

"Hey guys, you wanna look for a flower? If not, pretty sure you can just go on ahead." He said to them. "If you wanna help that kid over there, then you can stay here. Speaking of which..."

Steven turned back in the direction of the boy.

"Hey kid!" He called. "What's your name?"

Abel narrowed his green-grey eyes ever so slightly as Steven suggested the others continue on ahead if they didn't care to help the kid search for his oddly specific flower. He just wanted to get those two all to himself, huh? They were already at their rest stop location, so what else was to be done with the day besides grab a hot meal and sleep? What a pig! You don't fool me. News flash, kid-- they're way too old for you! Of course, Abel didn't know any of their ages, but it seemed likely.

He glanced sideways at Lyra-- was Lyra too old for him? You could never tell with elves, could you? He wondered how in the world elves were able to tell amongst themselves. Maybe age didn't matter in their society. Hell if he would ever learn that sort of crucial information while living amidst a bunch of rock sucking dwarves, though.

Bagh! He inwardly waived the thought away as he absentmindedly took the pebble out of his mouth and subtly tossed it aside. Anyway, he had no idea what a "detèmine" was. Flowers were definitely not Abel's forte, but it struck him as odd that the boy needed such a specific flower simply because his mother was sad. Perhaps it was her favorite flower? Apparently some shoemaker told him it was out here. Maybe he'd been playing a cruel trick on the boy.

He felt sympathy for the child, but Abel didn't want to be the one to tell the kid he'd been duped-- nor that flowers don't magically make people happy when they are sad... especially when they are 'very, very sad'. He waited pensively for the boy to give his name.

@nrtashi No sooner than she walked up did Elisha almost run into her. Illumina shrugged "It's fine.". Illumina looked her over more closely, out of the rest in the group Elisha looked more...proffessional than the rest. She certainly looked like she knew what she was doing more than farmboy over there.

And now that she mentioned it, she was right. They never really had time to introduce themselves, nor did they really talk that much. Was kinda a bummer, the group seemed interesting enough.

With a smile she spoke, "Names' Illumina, Illumina Nightblade. Nice to meet you." The kid eventually revealed the name of the flower, which she never heard of before. Don't really get many flowers in the slums or market aside from stands or the occasional wild flower growing through the cracks trying not to get trampled on.

"Kid seems kinda odd..never heard of this flower, not that it looks like any'll grow here anyway. Mostly just rock and weed." Illumina spoke, low enough the kid couldn't hear, high enough that Elisha should be able to.

"Also never heard of a flower curing deppression..not even sure if any medicine like that exsists." Illumina shrugged. Kid seemed shifty, or maybe it was just a certain degree of stupidity, she couldn't tell.

@BytheSpleen


"Hey kid! What's your name?" The boy heard Steven ask him. In his still childish mind and being timid, it took a moment before the question sank in. He was focused on his task to find a detèmine for his sad mother. He walked around the boulder and after ensuring that there was nothing the boy lifted his eyes from the ground to look at Steven. Carefully he studied the group of strangers. Instinctively he turned his feet slightly inwards and again cast his eyes down. "Säätur", he said, "from Avveel".

The sun was just about to reach it's apex at this time of the year. Though the town was still somewhat far away in the distance, the town hall bell marking the midpoint of the day could be heard clearly enough. It's light and happy sound echoed pleasantly in the valley. A steady stream of people begins to slowly flow to the fields in the distance. The most eager workers have ended their break and are now returning to work.

The sound of the bell made Säätur jump slightly and he stared at the town in the distance. Quickly he moved on to the next boulder and continued his careful search.

Steven cocked his head sideways at the mention of the boy's name, as it was pretty weird by his standards. But he shrugged it off, as it was likely how it was around here, and didn't think much more about it. He turned back to his travelling companions and continued to talk.

"Anyway, if you wanna help... Säätur find a flower for his mom, you can stay here and help, but..." Steven said.

Steven looked around once again, to confirm. No grass in sight, no flowers. Beaten road. Little plant life. Something as delicate as a flower would need protection and soil, and the lack of flowers here proved him right, meaning it'd either be further down the road near more hospitable territory, or it'd be up somewhere high...

"It might involve some climbing. Maybe." Steven continued. "It might not, but it'll be hard to find anyway, because I'm pretty sure none of us are from around here."

Steven looked around the group as he talked, seeing that two of the group were engaged in conversation.

Looks like they won't be helping. Steven thought.

"In all honesty," Steven said. "It'll probably take a while, so whoever wants to go ahead should just go and leave whoever wants to help this kid."

Lyra shook her head, and sighed.

"It's time to work. If we dally here for too long, we might have to wait until evening to even find the supervisor for our training, but..."

She glanced at the boy.

"Go on. It shouldn't take too long; besides, he's of age to work. The adults might be worried about him if he's shirking his trade."

She knew it was wrong to leave her group behind, considering that she was one of the oldest members (which, by all mannerisms, obligated her to be a role model). Still, the boy was but a boy, and perhaps he was right; she'd meet up with her group again soon, anyway. They'd tell her if the boy even had a mother.

"Saatur," Lyra started, "how long have you been searching for this flower?"

She, as softly as she could, stepped closer and continued to feel for any signs of life. In truth, she was terrified at the prospect of leaving herself vulnerable; greater spirits had a habit to hex her or avoid her if at all possible, calling her a "gross thing defying all order and sense". The worst thing was that she couldn't communicate anything but an aura of death, so she couldn't clarify anything unless it was through some elaborate ritual or instrument, neither of which she had any possession or conception of.

I see. A slight smile crept across Abel's face as Steven asked the group for a second time if anyone wanted to head into town. He was really trying to convince them to leave and Abel felt he had finally figured out why. He inwardly shook his head and chuckled to himself. Why hadn't he figured this out sooner?

"Steven, was it?" Abel said seriously as he stood up and dusted a bit of dirt from his knee with his gloved hand. In a low voice that was just barely audible to Lyra and the others, he asked "Are you perhaps scared to head into town alone? I wouldn't mind accompanying you if that's the case-- and don't worry. It's perfectly natural for a kid your age to be scared... I think."

Without giving Steven a chance to answer, he quickly turned to Lyra, "I'll see if I can't find this shoemaker who told the kid about the flower. Come on, Steven-- let's go." He started walking in the direction of the village, gesturing casually for Steven to follow him.

He considered bidding Illumina and Elisha goodbye, but didn't want to interrupt their conversation. They seemed to be talking about Saatur, so he figured they planned to help Lyra. Either way, he shouldn't need their help to escort Steven into town. What's the worst they could encounter there anyway? The village drunk?