“I hate math...” I sighed, and Rachel gently smiled back. We had finally gotten through the last bits of homework, having saved the worst for last, and now we were putting it away to get our scripts out.
“That was pretty evil this time.” she said in agreement. “Think you'll pass the test in March?”
“At this rate I'll get away with a C like last time, probably.” I replied.
“Good!” she smiled again. “Now on to more fun stuff!” she continued, flipping through the pages to find our lines.
“It is fun,” I had to agree. “Though now I'm kind of dreading actually doing this in front of people...”
“Hmm...” Rachel nodded back. “Allie was saying something to me yesterday that made sense; don't think too much about the audience, just focus on the other characters you're interacting with and make the stage your entire world.”
“Hmm.” I pondered, trying to sort out how that might work. “Hrrmm... so burying yourself in the part a bit can keep your mind off of being watched, I guess is what she means,” I reasoned it out.
“Something like that,” Rachel agreed.
“Hahh... that seems a little hard though...”
“Oh? I think you've had some good practice already... Lana.” she said to me with a soft smirk.
“Gyeek!” I involuntarily froze, then relaxed a half second later. “… Oh, it's like that, huh...” I said in realization.
“You're just figuring that out now?” she returned with an amused grin. “I guess it's just different enough for you not to think of it that way to begin with.” she added, patting my head.
“Ahh...” I replied uncertainly. “Anyway,” I then said, recovering myself, “That makes a bit more sense... what lines were we starting with today?”
“Here: act one, scene nine.” Rachel said, and I flipped through a few more pages to catch up with her so we could rehearse the scene in question, along with a few others later on.
***
It was after three in the real world before the two of us finished going through lines, and then we spent another couple of hours hanging out, ending up at a small diner around five to grab a bite before I walked her home. I then made my own way home, and on the way I encountered the young lady with jet black hair and somber eyes. She shyly waved to me, and I waved back, giving a small smile in return.
“By the way... I, never did get your name,” she said as she halted a couple steps away. I stopped as well, rubbing the back of my neck.
“I'm Sean, Sean Daniels.” I replied, holding a hand out. She smiled, and reached to take my hand as well.
“I'm... Sabrina. Sabrina Jennings.” she said in turn.
Yep. Yep yep. It's Myanihia.
“How... is your girlfriend?” she asked me as we finished our handshake and let go.
“She's well. We just got back from a day out.” I told her.
“Good.” the girl named Sabrina smiled back. “Well, it was... good, to see you around, again. I should get going... my job, hates latecomers.” she remarked with a grin, and I nodded back.
“It was nice to properly meet you. Take care,” I said in reply, and she smiled again, the both of us waving as resumed heading our separate ways.
I wonder where she works? I wondered as I continued on my way home. I wonder why she hasn't noticed me as quickly as Christina and Mandy did... my face scrunched up in bemusement as this thought struck me.
“I guess one day she'll figure it out too... though I wonder how she'd take it...” I softly mumbled to myself as I got in sight of my house.
That thought soon dissipated as I saw my mother's car pulling in. She'd probably had one of those clients again if she was coming home this late. The kind who like to nitpick and haggle when it comes to real estate value. Not that I knew much about it, but dad and I did hear a lot of her frustration with it now and again. She got out and slammed her car door shut with a hoarse sigh. Deciding to keep out of it, I waited until she got inside the house to get in myself; as I passed the living room I heard her softly venting to my dad about how finicky today's buyer was.
Good luck, I thought to myself.
He was always patient about it though. Which is a good thing, insofar as I know anything about it. Of course, that was probably part of why he always had the cartoons going too, so that they would eventually distract her from being angry or frustrated.
“Cobwebs this, dust that -- I had that house cleaned exactly one day ago, there's no way there should have been anything like that for them to complain about!” she ranted as I headed up the stairs.
“They came all the way from downstate to complain about that?” my dad remarked with incredulity.
“Apparently!” she returned in a high-pitched voice. “And then they tried to wheedle down the price on account of these imaginary problems -- that house is worth exactly the listing price, but all these downstate people want to do with my time is--” she continued, but as soon as I got to my room I shut the door, cutting off any further words from my hearing.
Whatever I do with my life, I am not being a real estate agent, I thought to myself with a tired grin. I then changed to more casual wear, and laid myself down upon the bed before setting the Dream Machine upon my head to leave reality behind once more.
Once I loaded in I found Ariana waiting, along with Healina, Belle, and Lysandra. The four of them greeted me happily, and we went to enjoy a cup of tea while we decided on what to do for the day.
“This quest Sabr--ahh, Myanihia gave us; I haven't been to that region in a long time,” Lysandra said as she took a look at our log.
“Is it hard?” I wondered.
“It can be. I was really just visiting it back then.” she said.
The place in question was known as the Grim Sands. It was east of Memphani, nearer to the coasts of the Melodious Sea. I gazed at its location on the map idly, but my thoughts were not as idle as my face.
From what Rayna told us, this seems a likely candidate for the quest that Rama and Hathisis undertook. I know she said it was a region 'in' Memphani, but maybe she meant one 'near' Memphani instead? It's situated right next to it, after all, so it could be easy to mistake as a part of the larger region at first glance, I mused. And she probably doesn't like to think about it all that much either, considering how things played out, so maybe she's never bothered looking into it further.
“What do you think?” Ariana asked me.
“I think we need to check it out anyway. If we get started on it too late, we won't have time to focus on it later.” I said.
“That sounds good, but things will be getting more complicated as the event goes on. I bet the quest won't let up either.” Belle remarked.
“True, but for now we have about a month and a half of real-time until the actual event starts. Which is about a half-year in game-time.” I returned.
“This is true.” the pixie-girl nodded.
“The sooner started, the sooner done.” Lysandra said with a smile. “I still have the wayport, I think, so we can get there pretty easily.”
“Nice!” Heali smiled.
“Let's take Fyu also, just in case,” Ariana said, and I nodded.
“We'll do that,” I agreed. And with our plans thus made, the five of us set out to collect the dog-beast as part of our party and head for the Grim Sands.
We emerged from the wayport into a bleak desert landscape with Fyu and the waggon. It was almost like the Waste far to the southwest of us, but the colors of the area seemed muted as opposed to the other region's sharp accentuation of colors like red and black.
“Pretty.” Belle remarked with a soft sarcasm.
“Pretty bleak,” Healina sighed.
“This region is unsafe, masters,” Fyu said to us. “Let us be on our guard.”
“Speaking of which, where's Maryn tonight? Or Anhe, even?” Lysandra wondered as we set off.
“They both had family obligations tonight,” Ariana replied.
“And Lizzy and Der both had work,” Healina added, “Though the other two might show up while we're still out here.”
“Where's this orb taking us, then?” the werewolf girl wondered.
“Hrrmm...” I myself also wondered, taking the object out to see if it would give us a clue. Remembering that sometimes a quest object like this might do something if it was close to where the objective was, I slowly turned around in a three-sixty, watching the orb carefully.
“Master, there is no need for such an act. I believe I can guide you to the temple you seek in these wretched sands.” Fyu then said to me, and I stopped, looking over at him.
“Temple?” I asked him.
“Most assuredly you hold in your hands one of the Nine Orbs of Sung'ro, an ancient master of the arcane who fashioned diverse magics and counter-magics in bygone days. This one you hold and the one we seek now are perhaps the simplest to find. The rest will not be come by so easily,” the dog-beast recounted for me.
“So we're looking for another temple like the one in Yucu Plains, then,” I said as I put the orb in question back into my inventory.
“Truly.” Fyu nodded.
“Which way, Fyu?” Ariana asked him.
“As I recall it, this particular temple lies hidden in a canyon beyond the Shroud.” he told us.
“Great.” Lysandra sighed.
“Hmm?” Belle turned to her.
“The Grim Sands are already bad on their own, but sub-regions like the Shroud are worse. I think that one is a poisonous dust-storm.” she told us.
“It is as you say.” the dog-beast said.
“Gyeck!?” I softly cringed.
“Hmm... it'd be better if Anhe was here with us, but I can probably manage something with Heali, yes?” Ariana then said, turning to our healer.
“I have my wards, of course. And you have your wind spells,” the Sea Elf replied.
“Oh true! I wonder if I can blow a path through the storm...” she wondered.
“A wind wall would be best, master.” Fyu said to her.
“Got it!” she smiled back.
“Then I shall do my best to hasten through the Shroud,” the other replied, and we set off at a brisk pace towards the canyon in question, which Fyu apparently knew from experience.
The dog-beast told us as we travelled that he had not actually been to the canyon itself, which was located in the heart of the Grim Sands, but that several of his friends from bygone times had described it and the way to get there in such detail that he could not possibly miss its location. As for the Shroud, its disturbance upon the land could be noted from several leagues away: a swirling mist of pale green and deathly grey, beyond which could be seen the remnants of an ancient city built into the canyon walls.
That sight greeted us about forty in-game minutes later, and as soon as we got near to it Healina activated her special wards to keep us safe from poison while Ariana cast a wind wall around the waggon as Fyu charged through.
“Hold fast, masters!” he said to us as he galloped along in haste.
“This place is more taxing upon my skill than I anticipated!” Healina exclaimed in concern.
“Looks like we're almost there,” I said as I kept my eyes glued ahead.
Except for the sound of Ariana's wind, Fyu's galloping, and the wheels of the waggon, there was no sound within the Shroud. The wisps of poison mist churned soundlessly around us; sometimes my eyes caught a glimpse of what looked like faces in the endless swirl, mostly eyes. These disembodied visages seemed full of venom and hate, and I half-imagined I could hear them whispering curses and maledictions upon us as we raced through. When we finally broke into the interior where the poison mists ceased, a sense of relief washed over us, and our two spell-casters stopped their skills as Fyu slowed to a gentle trot to catch his breath.
“Did anyone else see those... eyes?” Belle wondered as we headed down into the canyon.
“I did,” I admitted.
“It is said that long ago, a vile sorcerer placed this land under a dark curse,” Fyu said to us. “This curse is the reason for the Shroud; because the people could not get out, they died with their own curses of retribution and hatred upon their lips. Those curses became mingled with the sorcerer's vile imprecations, and their souls became one with the Shroud.”
“Yikes,” Healina remarked, while Ari and I exchanged a glance. If this sort of cursed city could exist on this side of Panarena, what kind of curses could be found on the Onyxus side?
“It's definitely a contender for the 'creepiest cursed city' in Harmonia.” Lysandra said as we reached the bottom of the canyon, heading along a disused thoroughfare.
“Just a contender?” I quipped.
“If I told you about the one in Ragnarheim, you'd puke and leave the game for a month.” she shrugged.
“Please don't then.” Healina said with a distressed look on her face.
“That one was pretty bad,” Belle nodded, a bemused smile coming to her lips.
“Indeed, I have heard that tale as well,” the dog-beast said as we passed through what was probably a market square. “Let us not speak of it.”
“Definitely not.” Lysandra agreed.
Is it bad that I kind of want to know now...? I wondered to myself. Ariana lightly flicked me.
“Don't even think about looking it up later.” she said to me.
“G'hyeck!?” I softly jumped in surprise.
“She knows him so well.” Belle smiled, and Lysandra quietly chuckled.
“Masters, the temple we seek seems to be just ahead.” Fyu then told us. The five of us looked to the front as he said those words.
Upon the walls of the canyon before us was a magnificent façade; Heali remarked that it looked Mesopotamian by design, possibly inspired by ancient Babylon. The roaring faces of lions and the regal visages of eagles decorated the heights of the carven columns, and over the door that led to the interior was a mural with a wedge-like script running about its edges. In the center of the mural, there was a bejewelled woman surrounded by several men in prostrate positions, and a demonic being falling into some sort of abyss.
“Have to hand it to the game designers,” Lysandra remarked as Fyu halted and we got out of the waggon, “True to life, women in ancient murals don't get a stitch but the 'jewels.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Right?” Belle sighed, a soft grin of amusement on her face. I felt my cheeks coloring as I realized what they meant.
“To be fair, the men don't have anything.” Healina shrugged.
“That's true,” the older girl nodded.
“Ah-heh,” I nervously laughed.
“Are there such things in your world, masters?” Fyu asked us.
“There are, but they don't have magic artifacts in them or curses around them.” Lysandra replied to him.
“Hmm!” our friend said with interest. “It would be intriguing to visit such a place,” he remarked.
“I bet he actually could in a couple years,” I whispered to Ariana.
“That'd be fun,” she nodded.
“Def.” I agreed.
“I heard that they're actually working on a device to do that sort of thing,” Lysandra said as we unhitched Fyu from the waggon so he could venture inside with us. “Well, there's a lot of complicated science behind it, but basically it allows for a VR environment or character to be actualized into AR, Augmented Reality. It's in the testing phase right now, but eventually they want to have it so that even people who don't have the device can be aware of the AR setting and characters.”
“Science?” Fyu wondered as we approached the door. “Ah, some sort of mystical alchemy and magic from your world, no doubt,” he said.
“Ahh...” Lysandra affected a wry grin, stuck for a reply.
“More or less,” Ariana nodded in agreement, trying not to laugh.
“Truly your world has its own multitude of wonders, masters,” he replied.
Call me a dope if you like, but hearing that from our friend Fyu Dongtian made me actually think about it for a moment. It was certainly true. Our world didn't have magic and such like a game world did, but there was definitely a different kind of magic and wonder going on. Though I imagined I would always prefer the kind in Panarena, I did start to wonder more about what lay beyond my actual horizons.
“What does the writing around the mural say, anyway?” I wondered as we halted in front of the door.
“Hmm,” Healina mused, pulling out one of her guidebooks to see if it had any information about it. “It's known as the Mural of the Last Queen by those who have managed to get this far; the writing around it describes her victory over the dark demon Pah'zhuso, who served an evil sorcerer that once terrorized the people here--oh!!” she read, suddenly looking up in realization.
“I guess this temple was either built or refurbished to commemorate that victory right before the curse happened, then,” I noted as we all filled in the blank.
“Gotta love the amount of thought they put into this world,” Ariana said with admiration.
“For sure.” I agreed.
“Yep!” Belle nodded. Lysandra then placed her hands upon the door, gently pushing to see if it swung inward; it gave way, and she pushed harder to open it.
“Here we go,” I said, readying my bow. Healina and Ari readied their staffs, and when we had followed her inside Lysandra drew out her sword. Belle went to sit upon Fyu's head, the dog-beast and Lysandra both sniffing the air.
“It's stale and musty. There can't be anything living in here.” the werewolf girl said.
“I agree; yet there may be those of the restless dead lying in wait, and phantoms certainly do not give off a scent,” Fyu noted.
“True.” she nodded back. I looked around the room, noting all the details that I could.
“It looks like there's only one way to go,” I then said, nodding towards the only continuing passageway; it was to the left at the other end of the entrance hall.
“There might be a hidden door here though,” Healina said as she looked through her book. “It says here that, sometime before the last queen, this temple was actually a vault for a sacred artifact. If it used to be a vault, there's probably a lot of false passages, traps, and hidden routes to be mindful about.”
“Meaning that passage might be a trick,” I nodded, heading over with Ariana to examine it. The passage was definitely not an illusion; it headed further along after making a turn to the right, continuing on an upward slant.
“Not a trick so far,” Ariana said.
“You think so?” Healina asked.
“I'll keep my eyes open,” I replied, stepping cautiously as I entered the passage to begin the ascent. The others followed after me, Belle now hovering in the air at my side as she activated her skill Pixie's Radiance to help illumine the area.
“Blank walls, huh?” she remarked as she looked around.
“Very blank.” I agreed.
There was no ornamentation or writing upon the reddish walls of the carefully hewn passage. That seemed fairly atypical for a dungeon in this game, but there would probably be sections ahead that did have them, so we didn't think too much about it. When we got to the top of the ascent, the passage made an abrupt right. At the end of this we could see what was probably a door of stone with a relief carved upon it. It was not unlike the mural above the entrance to this place. The peculiar writing wove around in circling patterns about the imagery, and Healina spent a few minutes with Ari looking over it and referring to the book as they deciphered the words.
“There's nothing about traps or tricks ahead, but a few of the words here are written with an emphasis. Me'lok, Astarei, Boal, Shishan, Teul, Zar, Kharaniy, Hewaj, Shu'ul; Death, Stars, Life, Lion, Moon, Sun, Fate, Darkness, Rest.” Healina told us when she looked back up at us.
“Nine words, and nine orbs.” Fyu noted.
“Definitely not a coincidence, though I'm guessing it's probably just a local parallel,” our healer remarked. I then went to try the supposed door; it was immovable.
“Hmm...” I frowned, backing away to examine it.
“I wonder if you have to touch those words in a certain order?” Ariana said.
“Probably,” I agreed.
“Fun.” Lysandra said, the bare hint of a smile on her face.
“For puzzle people anyway,” Belle added with a wry grin.
“Oh, I see!” Healina said with delight, touching the nine words without hesitation. There was no particular order to the way she did so, but I noted then that the nine words had been arranged to line up in a circle.
“Oh, I get it,” I then remarked. “A continuing cycle!”
“Good, Lana!” Healina smiled as the now-revealed door swung inwards.
“Ohh, neat!” Ari said as we resumed walking.
“Of course,” Fyu nodded as he padded alongside us. “The eternal cycle as interpreted by those of this land.”
“There's more of them, huh?” Healina returned.
“Yes, master,” the other replied. “In Xuanpu, it is much the same; but there are twelve instead of nine. There is no lion but a dragon; and the other three are the Tiger, the Maiden, and the Flower.”
“Neat!”
“For real, the details here,” I quietly smiled, and Ariana nodded, also smiling.
The revealed passageway turned to the left after a time, heading downward this time. It continued going down at the next four turns, each of them left turns. The final turning led us down to another door like the one now further above us. There were no emphasized characters on this one, but there were nine slots arranged in a circle.
“There's a passage to the left of the door, and one to the right. I bet it's the same passage, though,” I said.
“Oh definitely.” Heali agreed. “And whatever sort of key we need to put into those slots will be somewhere along that corridor.”
“We still haven't run into any sort of monsters, but I feel like that'll start changing soon.” Lysandra said, readying her sword.
“Ari.” I said, and my partner activated her Mystic Vision to see ahead while I turned on Shadow Vision to do the same.
“Anything, girls?” Belle asked us after a moment.
“I see lots of doors ahead, but no monsters.” Ariana reported.
“I see some pretty tricky mechanisms ahead, but we can avoid them if we're careful.” I added.
“How tricky?” Ari wondered.
“Ehh...” I thought for a moment, looking again. “We'll have to step carefully, and there's a few tripwires as well.”
“Lovely.” Healina sighed.
“Hmm...” Lysandra frowned, gripping her sword tightly.
We decided to proceed down the left passage, moving cautiously so as not to activate one of the traps. All of the doors were on our left side, which meant that the door with the locks probably had a large room behind it, likely the final room. Some of the side-rooms had nothing; some of them had trinkets or possibly magical items; it was the seventh room we looked into that finally had one of the keys, a hardened clay disc with a lion etched onto it. We continued along, carefully examining the rest of the rooms along the oblong pathway until we had the other eight, re-emerging at the door about one-and-a-half game hours later.
“That was tedious,” Healina tiredly grinned. “It's a good thing Ari kept hold of that ring, or we'd never have made it through that one trap,” she added, and Ari beamed while I affected a wry grin of my own.
“Ah-heh,” I laughed hesitantly. “I'm going to be very tired of that ring before the year's out...” I then sighed, heading over to examine the key-slots.
“Oh right!” our healer and scholar then recalled, heading after me with Ariana and the others.
“They're all marked, so it should be straightforward.” Belle noted.
“It was just getting to them that was tricky,” Lysandra softly smiled.
“Yep!” the pixie-girl agreed.
“So we put them in like so,” Healina said as we inserted the clay discs into their slots, “And then...” she halted as the last one was placed; the door then retracted into the walls, revealing a wide chamber.
Here there were a lot of murals and carvings, depicting various scenes from the myths and history of the people who had lived here. The dimly lit chamber gave them a melancholy feel. In the center of the room was an altar on a perfectly round dais, and at the far end of the room was an elaborately fashioned stone pedestal with the second orb sitting on top of it. Unlike the first one, which was adamantine, this second orb was made of green jade.
“Pretty,” Belle remarked as we got close to it.
“Still no monsters, huh?” Lysandra said uneasily, looking around.
“I am likewise perplexed, masters.” Fyu said as I reached to take the orb.
“I don't mind an easy night,” I replied, taking the thing in my hands and placing it in my inventory.
Then we heard the sounds of cracking. At once we looked up, and as the sounds continued we managed to deduce that they were coming from the altar in the center of the room. Belatedly we realized it wasn't an altar.
“Snap, it was a sarcophagus!!” I exclaimed, drawing out my daggers as I rushed towards it with Fyu, Lysandra, and Belle at my side.
“Storm Wards!”
“Healing Guard!” Ari and Heali called out, enveloping us with defensive magics as the lid crumbled off of the sarcophagus and a perfectly preserved figure rose up out of it.
“The queen!” Lysandra gasped as the three of us suddenly skidded to a halt, Belle hopping back a few paces in the air to hover next us.
“Definitely the queen,” she agreed.
The beautiful woman from the murals was now before us as a specter of herself; yet the one thing I quickly noted was that I did not feel dread. She gazed at us solemnly, but with sorrow in her eyes, spreading her arms invitingly as she suddenly spoke.
“Heroes, if heroes you be; what do you here amidst these tragic halls?” she asked us, her tone one of melancholy.
It's a test. I put away my weapons, and knelt before her. Lysandra, after hesitating a moment, did the same, and so did the other three. Fyu lowered his head in reverence. She gazed at us impassively, awaiting our answer.
“We have come to claim this orb in order to defeat a creature of darkness.” I said to her. The queen blinked, stepping towards us softly.
“Then you are the heroes of the prophecy, the ones who will end our torment. Bring out the Jade Orb,” she said to me, and I brought it out again, holding it up. She touched it, and it glowed. “That is the last of our power, the last vestiges of myself and my people. May you soon defeat Dh'ya-Ziim, servant of the Vile One, and return him to darkness.” she prayed, and then faded away with a sad smile upon her face. I stood up slowly, gazing at the spot where she had been.
“Just a bonus, huh?” Lysandra remarked as she also stood up.
“Masters, we must honor this goodwill.” Fyu said to us.
“We will, Fyu. We will.” I replied.
“I don't suppose we got a clue on the next one?” Belle wondered.
“Hm? Oh!” I then said, rubbing the orb. It gave us a location in Ghev'riuln, which was far to the north and just east of Ragnarheim.
“None of us have been there, huh?” Belle noted.
“Not me.” Lysandra shook her head.
“Nope.” Heali added, and Ari and I both shook our heads.
“I think I heard it was a wintry region, though,” I said.
“I remember reading that somewhere,” Ariana nodded.
“For now, let's get out of here,” I then said, and we retraced our steps to leave the ancient temple and return to the waggon. After hitching up Fyu once more, we broke out of the Shroud the same way we broke in, returning to Queen's Haven from the nearest wayport.
***
“A multi-region quest, huh?” Lizzy said with interest as we discussed the matter later that night. She had logged on with Derwydd just as we got back, while Maryn and Anhe had been on for a bit longer. “I'd almost forgotten about Ghev'riuln. That area was one I missed, but I remember a lot of people complaining about how cold it was up there.” she told us.
“We were lucky Fyu knew about the dungeon we just did, but I doubt we'll find the others so easily.” I remarked.
“I doubt they'll be easy either.” Ariana said.
“That too,” I nodded.
“Of course not,” Lizzy shrugged.
“Seven more dungeons, huh?” Maryn said, and then sighed. “It sounds like our journey through the Marshes of the Wyrd.”
“That one was more straightforward.” Healina faintly grinned.
“Since we don't have any other clues other than the region itself, we'll probably end up exploring a lot of dungeons from now on...” I sighed.
“We can at least try and knock this one out before tomorrow.” Lizzy said. “The other orbs might lead us to the next one like a compass, right?”
“Oh yes! Lana was going to try that before Fyu told us he knew about the other dungeon,” Ariana recalled.
“Still, this next region is a lot bigger than the Grim Sands,” I smiled wryly.
“We'll at least determine where not to go.” our smith grinned.
“We can also take a train to get to that region from Harmonia City,” Anhe then added, “So we can at least get a wayport or two for the future.”
“Right,” I nodded in agreement.
If Fyu knew about one of these dungeons, I wonder if someone else does as well... I then thought to myself.
“All-righty! Let's head to Harmonia City then!” Lizzy said excitedly.
“Here we go again!” Derwydd grinned.
“I'll catch up to you guys; there's something I want to check out first,” I told them.
“We'll wait for you!” Ariana smiled, and they headed out to reserve a train for our trip. As soon as the others had used the wayport to get to their destination, I input my own destination: the Torching Mount.
“Lady Lana, you honor me,” Dracuoatlax said as I approached him. “To what do I owe this visit? Are we going into battle?”
“Not yet,” I said.
“Hmm!” the dragon looked at me curiously.
“For now, I came to seek your wisdom and knowledge. Have you heard of the Nine Orbs of Sung'ro?” I asked him as I sat down on a rock next to him.
“Hmm... it has been an age since I have heard those words together... this is about that fiend, Djaziim, is it not?” he returned, and I nodded back. “These nine mythical orbs together are rumored to be his downfall; the only one I know exists for certain is the Draigod Orb, hidden away in the Dragonholt.”
“A Draigod Orb...” I repeated softly.
“Yes, indeed.”
“Did you ever encounter it?”
“I saw it once, but that was before it was hidden away,” Dracuoatlax recalled. “However, there are few places it could be in that realm. Do you wish to journey and find it, Lady Lana?” he asked.
I pondered this for a moment. It was possible this quest-chain could get muddled up if done out of order, but I was fairly positive it was more of a so-long-as-you-get-it quest as opposed to a do-it-in-order. For that reason, Dracuoatlax's offer was one I was heavily considering.
“The others are seeking an orb hidden away in Ghev'riuln... I was going to join them after learning if you knew anything, but...” I said, trying to decide.
“I see!” the dragon said. “Have you found some of these orbs already?” he asked in a tone that showed his admiration.
“We have an adamantine and a jade orb so far,” I nodded back.
“Interesting!” he remarked. “It is a far place they have gone too, Lady Lana.” he noted.
“It is pretty far,” I agreed.
“Let me offer my thoughts on the matter,” he continued, and I nodded back. “Allow the others to do what they can in the north. There is an old spell that I can use to traverse to the Dragonholt; we two can investigate the orb of that land, if you have the time?”
“I'll have to send them the orbs I have, but that shouldn't be a problem.” I nodded back.
“Excellent! And if one or more of them decide to join us, that will not be unwelcome.” the dragon replied. I smiled back, and sent a quick-mail with the orbs attached to Ariana.
Lana: Heading to Dragonholt with Dracuoatlax to investigate another lead; sending you guys the orbs.
It was a few moments later that I received a reply.
Ariana: Heali has them now! Anhe and I are coming to help you!
“Looks like Ariana and Anhe will be with us,” I told Dracuoatlax.
“Very good, Lady Lana.” he bowed his head. After a few minutes, the other two showed up to meet us outside the Torching Mount.
“Lizzy's a little pouty, but she agreed it's a good plan.” Ari smiled. “She's missing the whole gang being together!”
“We'll have to do something fun tomorrow night or so,” I said, and they nodded back as we got on the back of our friend the dragon.
“How does this work, exactly?” Anhe wondered as Dracuoatlax took off into the air.
“It is a spell that only a dragon can perform.” our friend replied. “And only when one is in the air!” he added. He then spoke in words that none of us could understand, probably dragon language, and a red-colored portal appeared in front of us; we flew through this, and moments later we found ourselves in the Dragonholt.
“Oh wow,” I said as I looked around.
The region's name was not given idly. There were dragons galore, all kinds and all colors of them. We looked around in awe, and I had a sense that Dracuoatlax was quite pleased with our amazement.
“Welcome to the land of my forebears,” he said to us proudly.
“It's amazing,” Ariana said with reverence.
“It is, is it not?” the dragon chuckled in a pleased tone.
“Are we heading to that mountain there?” I asked him. There was a tall mountain with a natural arena at the top; it was probably an extinct volcano.
“We are indeed. That is Orðgäering, the Mountain of Shimmering Scales,” he told us. We then noticed that the mountain did indeed seem to shimmer with various colors as we got closer to it. “It is where in ancient times our monarchs reigned; and now it is where the most powerful dragons gather to take counsel -- or to prove their prowess against one another.”
“Whoa.” I remarked, completely absorbed by the words.
“Let us see what we can find out at the counsel of dragons!” Dracuoatlax declared with vigor, and I felt a rush of excitement as we drew closer to the mountain known as Orðgäering.