"You are in the town of Crosta." he said. I felt the weight of his boots hit the ground as we moved down the hallway together. "This is the home of the Guardians. A group of people who help protect the Blighted." Arin opened the left side of the double door as he spoke. We entered a very large room. The ceiling was very tall. A large chandelier filled the room with a blue light. We walked towards the center of the room.

"The blighted ones are cursed to find and defeat the three lords of Terror." he continued, most of this making small amounts of sense to me. The room itself was similar to a cathedral or church. There was a pool of water to my right and it was slightly higher than ground level. It had two short stairways connected on both sides of it. Directly in front of me was a large open room. Multiple chairs and tables filled this area. I noticed an area that looked like it served food to the left and built into the back wall.

Passed the large room was another hallway, in similar size to the hotel looking section, however this hallway did not include any rooms so it was wider. The hallway ended a bit quicker as well, being much shorter. This must have been the library as there were shelves filled with books.

I stopped. I was completely appalled by the gigantic stature of this large building. I completely ignored Arin as he continued to speak about this place. It was so magnificent and beautiful. The blue light bounced off the walls perfectly allowing for the whole place to be lit with a sweet blue light. I looked above the pool of water, and there was a wooden railing built so people don't fall down into the pool. There must be a second floor up there. This was crazy.

"Blighted One. Are you alright?" Arin asked me, being a few feet in front of me.

"This is amazing." I replied. "This place is incredible."

"It is." he said blankly. "This is the Temple of the Guardians, where guardians and blighted alike live and train to become stronger." He moved his hand up to his neck, almost as if he was in pain, and proceeded to crack his neck. He relieved a sigh and continued to speak.

"We train in different ways to combat the creatures summoned by the Lords of Terror. And we hope that soon enough we will be able to awaken the lords from their slumber and defeat them once and for all." He motioned me to continue following him, and I walked with him again, paying close attention.

"The Lords of Terror hold the key to the Blighted World, and in their demise all of the blighted ones can be sent home to live their lives again." Arin spoke, and this time I hopped in front of him to stop his pace, like a kid playing hopscotch. I was excited.

"You mean I just need to kill three monsters to leave here?!" I was excited, but no longer laughing at the thought of monsters. I had just defeated two monsters in the cemetery.

"Indeed. The Lords of Terror are tough enemies to face, and they have armies of desolates and other creatures behind them." He started walking forward again and I hopped out of the way. The large cathedral doorway was in front of us. It was completely open and the sunlight flowed inside.

We made our way outside of the temple. My stomach was chilled by the cool breeze that swept by as my armor was still broken in that area. My eyes were flooded with a beautiful medieval village down a short pathway. The village, as well as the temple, seemed to be laying on top of a mesa or cliff. I could see the ocean ahead of the town, but it was not level with the land that the small town laid upon. People were working in the town, children were playing.

"What did he say the town was called again?" I had to think for a moment. "This is Crosta." I thought to myself. I noticed a cliff face to my left and spun around to realize that the majority of the temple was built inside of a cliff face. Arin and I made our way down towards the town. We continued to talk about different odd jobs here, and specific basic training regiments I would have to go through before being able to leave the town. One thing he said really stood out to me.

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"There are others here." he paused for a moment. "That have passed on from your world." I looked up at him. I had hope that maybe Jake could have been brought here too.

"Others? From Earth?" I asked again to be sure.

"Yes. All the blighted come from your planet. Including young ms. Stephanie." Arin replied, adjusting the large plate piece that rested upon his shoulder. Apparently the girl I had been rude to was ... closer to me than I had realized.

We arrived in the center of town. It was a circular path that surrounded a fountain that looked like an enlarged wishing fountain that I would throw coins into when I was younger. Multiple paths branched out to different areas.

Arin and I made our way to the Tavern of the Bold Horse. It was quite an odd name, but the atmosphere inside was quite interesting. There were plenty of peculiar faces, small people, tall people. There were plenty of different kinds of people, all hanging out, drinking, and enjoying themselves. The Tavern was fairly simplistic. A bar at the back where you could order your food and drinks, and multiple rows of large tables with benches beside them. There were a few single tables off to the right and left of the shop, and a staircase was off in the back right corner, as well as a few other doorways.

Arin and I sat down at one of the single tables. The Tavern was busy but it wasn't necessarily loud. A tall and attractive waitress made our way over to us. She was wearing a skirt and had a revealing shirt on.

"What can I get for y'all today ya cuties?" she spoke with a heavy southern accent, almost like she was faking it for the job.

"Get the girl a full meal." Arin told the waitress. I wasn't particularly picky but I was curious about what food would be brought out.

"What about you sweetheart?" the waitress teased. Arin looked up at her, his eyes met hers and she just awkwardly looked away. "Right, I'll get the special for her." and she made her way to the kitchen area.

"Blighted One." Arin spoke with concern this time. "Now that we are here, and I have explained myself, and your mission. I require information about the Angel of Death." He studied me. I could barely see his eyes through his mask but he looked me up and down. "Please, enlighten me as to how you defeated it."

"I assume you mean the large Grim Reaper dude." I said and Arin nodded in return. "I pulled the blue gem from my sabre, as you said only magic could defeat magic." I continued, taking a sip of my water between sentences.

"I just thought that because only magical things produced color in the cemetery, that I needed to use the gems' magic against the reaper's red eye." I spoke, and as I did Arin questioned me.

"You crushed the Cryo Catalyst from your sword?" He asked, expecting me to know what he meant.

"If you mean the blue gem, then yes." I said thinking about that moment. "It was excruciatingly painful." I said grimly.

"That's incredible, you have potential." He said, again a hint of pride in his voice. "Potential is good here Blighted One. Maybe you'll have a shorter time training than I originally thought."

"If I'm going to be taught to use magic." I began. "Am I going to go through that pain every time I use it?" I said, dreading the awful torture that I had felt while using the crystal.

"The gem you crushed is a powerful Cryo Catalyst. It allows Tempests like yourself to utilize powerful ice magic, mostly from a distance. However, it is quite odd that you preferred a melee attack when using that spell." Arin continued.

"That didn't answer my question." I scolded him.

"Eventually, your body builds up an immunity, and you complete your training once you're able to crush a catalyst and feel no pain." Arin answered my question thoroughly. I scowled at him, becoming even more impatient. I thought about my mom and Jake and how I was wasting my time here when I could be going back to them. I stood up quickly, knocking over my drink in the process.

"Why are we here?! We are wasting time when I could be out there figuring out a way home!" I shouted violently as emotions overcame me. I was burning with adrenaline and hatred for everything around me. The hardened knight in front of me didn't even flinch, which fueled me even more.

"I'm wasting time sitting here listening to you spill exposition like a fucking idiot!" I stormed off towards the tavern door, overhearing a few whispers about me being a 'new blighted' and how cranky I sounded.

"Are you going to chase after her?" A raspy dwarven voice said from behind me as I approached the door.

"I'll let her go." Arin said to him calmly, before I stormed completely outside of the tavern,

unable to hear his next sentence. I didn't care though. I was absolutely livid as I walked around the Tavern and towards the edge of the town. I passed by a few more buildings until I eventually sat by the cliffside, overlooking the ocean. I wanted to figure out how to get home. I didn't want to do training, I'm able to take care of myself.