Upon placing Maisie on the white blanket-covered bed, Conan inched towards her hood, preparing to take it off, when his hand was grabbed by Kalthona. A wave of stress washed over the group as they prepared for his reaction.
“I’ll need to see her entire body if I’m going to be healing her.” He reminded the axe wielder, but the tanned girl didn’t budge, instead tightening her grip around his wrist.
“Are you a bigot?” The flame user asked, confusing Conan. He looked down at Maisie, then back at Kalthona.
“No.” He replied. The axe wielder then looked at the group, and they nodded their heads, allowing her to let go of his arm. After she did, Conan reached forward and removed the hood from Maisie’s head. His eyes then widened upon laying his eyes on her ears. Her entire appearance came together like a puzzle, and Conan couldn’t help but stare in awe.
“A Fairwood.” He gasped.
“Aye now.” Hide warned with his eyebrows furrowed.
“Oh no, no. I have no problem with the species. I actually had the pleasure of living amongst them for a while.” Conan stated, surprising them all. “Great people.” He added.
“Hardly.” Lyon muttered, which earned him a jab in the hip from Bonney. “Ow-uh.” He moaned.
Conan finally snapped out of his daze and rolled his sleeves up. “I’m going to need some space.” He said this, looking at the group, who were too close to him. Apologising, the group moved back and watched on. The healer’s hands then began glowing a sage green colour as he hoovered them over Maisie’s body. The sage was glowing and then slowly turned red around her stomach area.
“A stomach bug.” The tanned man said he was officially diagnosing her.
“Thank God. I’m glad it’s not something serious.” Kalthona breathed out. She then broke into a grin, moving to the edge of the bed to sit down. Conan watched her, softly smiling. He then placed his hands on Maisie’s stomach, and the group watched as a white glow covered the elf’s stomach. Little by little, colour returned to Maisie’s face, and her eyes finally opened.
“Where am I?” The elf croaked out. Conan quickly backed away as Kalthona, Hide, and Bonney surrounded the bed, drawing close to Maisie’s face.
“We’re at Windmill Valley.” Hide said, smiling. Maisie hummed, then slipped back to sleep.
“I think we should allow her to rest for a bit. The healing should officially kick in by nightfall.” He explained. The trio nodded, while Lyon looked at Maisie with an emotion no one could tell. After standing around the sleeping elf for some time, the group and Conan left the room, shutting the door behind them, and made their way to the living room. Hide and Kalthona squished themselves on the love seat, while Lyon, Bonney, and Conan sat on the sofa.
“So where are you heading?” Conan asked.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Milhania.” Bonney replied dryly. This took Conan out of the loop, and he looked at the group with wide, confused eyes.
“Now why would you go somewhere so hostile!?” He asked. Images of a man eating dragons filled his head. However, the biggest problem was that the neighbouring countries were dipped in hostilities. Milhania had now found itself near the borders of war between the Myan Empire and the Gold State Empire.
“Dragons aren’t that bad. I had them as pets.” Kalthona said, repeating the same words she had told Maisie.
“And where are you from?” Conan pushed, not quite believing her.
“Dagnaan City.” A silence befell the two as they stared at each other for some time.
“That’s home to the Kaani Lizard. They’re not dragons.” Conan informed her with a deadpan expression. Kalthona pouted before crossing her arms together.
“They’re close enough to one. They don’t need to have wings or fly to be an actual dragon.” She grumbled, furrowing her eyebrows. Hide laughed, as did Conan.
"Yes, they do.” Hide laughed out, patting the girl’s back. Kalthona stuck her tongue out at the blood mage before hitting her shoulder against his.
"Well, she could’ve fooled me. I thought she actually had dragons.” Bonney stated, looking over at Kalthona, squinting her eyes behind her blindfolds. Lyon let out a small laugh before going back to being stoic. The group and Conan fell into deep conversation, talking about anything that came to mind.
*******
Republic of Daneworth
Pierce Wood Parliament, Qash City
“Order! Order!” The sound of a gavel hammering down on the desk echoed across the dark parliament halls. Men and women in black and white suits continued to argue over each other, throwing around insults and disagreements viciously. It was a gnarly sight, and in the far back sat Byron Sirius. A young man was invited to shadow his MP and introduce himself to the world he would soon join.
“I will not ask again. I expect order within the parliament."The gavel yet again sounded across the dark-walled halls. The arguments ceased, and everyone took their seats. On the highest stand sat a large, pale-faced, bald man with a cigar hanging from his mouth. His brown chequered blazer was close to ripping apart; it was simply too tight for him. His cold blue eyes stared down at the politicians below him, judging them.
“MP Stone, you may speak.” The pale man said, lifting a hand up. A dark-skinned man with long locs stood up with a single sheet of paper in his hand. Byron watched on, intrigue filling his every bone.
“Lord Brown, I believe the amount of money we’re using on the war against the Myan Empire should be diverted and instead spent on rebuilding the several homes destroyed by the hurricane.” A ray of angered disagreement echoed across the hall.
“Settle down, settle down!” Lord Brown yelled, hammering down the gavel again. “MP Riche, you may speak.” A tanned man with long blonde hair, wearing a luxurious black silk tuxedo, stood up.
“We’re at war, MP Stone. A war that can sweep this very nation. Crushing the Myan Empire is the most important thing for us to do. Re-building this nation will happen once we secure its safety by making sure there are no enemies on our borders."A ray of loud agreement followed his statement. Byron sat back and watched. He stared at Stone, feeling sorry for the man. Anti-war sentiments were not met with grace in the parliament, and he knew why. Although this empire would not admit it out loud, the war was fueled by religious delusion. The Myan Empire was more open with their goals, making Byron respect them more. His pale blue eyes stared into Brown’s blue ones. Feeling unnerved, the understudy began playing with his hair, averting his gaze as one thought went through his mind.
Eldoria was heading down a dangerous path, and a certain curse was about to come into play.