Odran gave each of the others a gruff, but approving nod as they introduced themselves. It was a motley little crew they all were- diverse in background as well as race. To be honest, they were not exactly the first group Odran would turn to to fight a dragon- not that he had ever fought any dragons either, they were typically rather friendly folk. He would have much rather had been backed by the Ironborn- ranks and ranks of heavy crossbow fire backed by ballista was Odran's typical go-to. Good old steel and stone as opposed to magical mumbojumbo. Still, he supposed they were all here for some reason or another.

The large human man Calit described himself as former royal special forces, how one simply left that life unscathed Odran wasn't entirely sure, but it certainly put the man on the 'don't cross him' list for Odran. Though, from the way the man spoke, perhaps he didn't leave the life completely unscathed. All in all, it just added to how motley a crew they were.

Odran looked to Vivian as she spoke to him, and offered her a hearty chuckle in return. "Aye, I get that a lot now. I chock it up to a wee bit o' giants blood oan mah marm's side." He hand waved her away as she flattered his people. While flattery would get you everywhere when it came to dwarves, Odran at least had to put up a show of humility.

Any further small talk was ceased as Lalei appeared, and presented to them the present situation. It was grimmer than Odran had expected. In just the two days it had taken them to get here, Vaeros had already destroyed Polis and much of the human settlements. To say Odran was shocked was a bit of an understatement. He had never considered the armies of Polis to be particularly noteworthy, but he hadn't expected them to be defeated so easily either. While most of them fell behind the average Ironborn dwarf in terms of experience and equipment, the armies of Polis were among the most numerous in Valeroma. Now more than ever, Odran yearned to have his fellow dwarves with him, and ready to fight.

"We must at least be sendin' word tae other major cities." Odran spoke up, "Ah dinnae know about a prophecy, but the others at least need time to prepare a defense!"

A few of the others expressed confusion about why they had been chosen and what could a few of them do that cities could not. Fair questions to be asked. Perhaps they were the only ones that could unlock legendary weapons or perhaps the due to the prophecy they were the only ones whose weapons would pierce the dragon's hide- magic did weird things like that, which is why Odran didn't like it. Odran merely shook his head asked if he had any questions- he wanted them to get moving as fast as possible, and the more time they spent talking, the less time they spent walking.

Zav nearly chocked a smile at Calit's comment. An assassin. A human one, however, so this group certainly was ragtag. He had never seen Polis- he was a nomad. "Okay. We have a dwarf I can barely understand, an elf that falls asleep easily, and a red haired elf that has a longsword. Not to mention a former royal special forces and someone crossbreed that doesn't even think they should be here." Zav stated, disappointed. THIS group was supposed to slay a dragon? "Also, if we get others for help, 'Non-Chosens',if you will, Vaeros will kill even more people."
Zav thought about the vision. How WERE six people going to slay a dragon? "If there's one thing I've learned in 112 years, it's that calling for help or running or waiting only lets more die. We need to get moving. We have a warrior like me, after all, and the dwarf shows potential."Zav would twirl his staff in his hand. "You guys keep asking questions, but until you're ready to get moving, I'm going to study."Zav would empty his small backpack to show four books: A Mage's Guide to Magic, The Valeroma Almanac, The Definitive Guide to Weapons,andTraveling Valeroma for Dummies."Probably should've brought rations instead of books."Zav said as he picked up "The Definitive Guide to Weapons"

Lalei watched as the group saw the gruesome, gory scene unfold. Bewilderment and shock and grief struck them hard...except the cocky one. She raised an eyebrow, why he was here as a chosen one, she did not know. She wished she had control over who was chosen, but they were deemed the chosen ones since the writing of both of the original prophecies. She had no power over it. All she could do is guide them in the right direction, and hope they learn to work together.

After she gave them all a minute or two to process, questions started pouring in. The top two being why she didn’t warn others, and why them. She looked at the one called Kassandra and then to the other faces.

“I know this is a lot to process, chosen ones. I know there are many unanswered questions and I will do my best to answer them. As to why I didn’t raise the alarm for others, it wouldn’t have done any good. It would have resulted in even more death than has already occurred. Vaeros is the most powerful adversary this world has ever and will ever see. No army can stand in his way.

I know this is daunting, and you are scared, and you should be. Like I said, it is possible that not all of you will make it through this. You have the worlds tools at your disposal. I will be visiting the major cities in visions, much like I did you. I will be informing them of the situation, though they likely know already. I will request that they make resources and manpower and firepower available at your request. I don’t expect any resistance on anyone’s part. You will have allies, and men and woman willing to lay their lives on the line to help you, to a point. That point is when Vaeros finds out about you. You will be hunted, once Vaeros learns of your existence and identities. When that happens, there are no guarantees. When Vaeros places that bounty on your heads, people may be fearful of helping you. It is up to you to inspire confidence, and then they will rise up and fight with you.

To answer the question as to why you specifically were called, I can honestly say I have no idea. Your fates were chosen and sealed at the moment of the writing of the prophecy. I can tell you that there are qualities in each of you that are called to this dangerous task. You are chosen for a reason. You must learn to work together, as a team. You all must become leaders. For only then will you stand a chance against Vaeros.”

She paused, letting the group process all this information.

“Vaeros is currently still in Polis, but I need you first to go to Azgada, the home of the elves. There you will find a warm welcome, resources, and combat training. You can learn to function and fight as a team, instead of bickering and flailing. I will reach out to each race, and tell them to send some of their best fighters to work with you there.

I must say, brave ones. You have already made me proud just by showing up. Not everyone would rise to this call, but you have each shown true courage. Together, you can win this fight. Together, you will beat Vaeros and save Valeroma.”

As she finished speaking, the wind picked up again. When it died, Lalei was gone as quick as she appeared, leaving the chosen ones alone to figure out where to go once more.

MY BAD MEANT TO GO TO OOC

If it hadn't been for the most recent and no less disturbing insight about Polis and its current 'situation' -- if one was daring enough to call the calamity that way --, Calit probably would have just shrugged his shoulders, started packing again and left the place. If there had not been some clear evidence already that things he would have not believed in just days ago were at work here, the assassin would have considered the whole thing to be nothing but an outright comical, ridiculous situation. Half a dozen strangers, some mysterious thing calling itself 'Lalei', the promise that they'd be able to defeat a dragon the entire remainder of the world couldn't and yet at the same time they'd have to get as far away from their enemy as possible first in order to receive some 'combat training' ?

There had been many nights of feasting and cheap beverages that had produced more serious and reasonable sounding results in the aftermath that was bad dreams.

And yet he stood right there, right now and struggled with his next words because he wanted them to sound like a callout for getting moving. He was about to take this very serious, but he didn't know why. Was it because he likely had lost his family or because some part of his mind actually could make sense out of all of this ?

"Well, erm... What are we waiting for ?" and he clapped his hands together, only to burst out into a distorted smile right after that. It was a mixture of desparation, crying and a real laughter he had hardly encountered before in his life. This was not the right time to turn crazy, was it ? Trying to reconquer his own seriosity and methodic mindset, the giant start moving back towards his horse and hoped that the others would do the same whatever kind of transportation they had chosen. Elven territory was a long distance away and it didn't look like Vaeros would stick to any schedule but his own.

"I am not exactly familiar with the border regions, so I think the one knowing the territory best should guide us!"