{-Llewel-}
He gave a mumble of greeting to Kelfin when he walked down and wandered to where Zetai and Reynneak were.
“You’re both here early,” Llewel remarked with a yawn. “Either that or we both slept in really late…”
“We’re early,” Zetai said. “Reynneak didn’t have any classes this morning and I wanted to get as much done as possible before my date this afternoon.”
“Thanks to Kaerio, we were able to find something to do while he adds on to Kelfin’s list,” Reynneak explained.
Zetai nodded. “There’s a priest around here that’s looking for some help restoring one of Emmyth’s temples. It sounds like he was in Nafrius for a while, too. Since the whole descendant thing, we just wanted to make sure you’d both be fine with doing that.”
“That sounds fine,” Llewel decided after a moment. “I don’t think Myr would mind, either.”
He didn’t expect to be able to recognize the priest, but… maybe he didn’t need to return to Nafrius to find some answers. Or he’d just have more questions, one of the two.
Zetai glanced at the stairs before cautiously asking, “Can you talk to her about the whole Tinath-Erin thing, too? Make sure she doesn’t need to be worried about it?”
He didn’t quite think about his response. “She isn’t worried, she’s told you that much herself.”
“Right,” she mumbled. “Not worried…”
…
Myr didn’t have any more reservations than he did. If anything, she seemed happy to do something that didn’t involve fighting anyone. They held a surprisingly casual conversation as they wandered to where the priest was; something none of them were quite focused on, yet still enough to keep away silence.
They stopped at a place right at the edge of the city—a temple, or at least, it must’ve been once. Parts of it were crumbling and, though he had a feeling it was never a centerpiece of the city, it was practically forgotten now. There was a glimpse of a man through the broken glass window and, moments later, the same priest excitedly came to greet them.
His eyes fell on the twins and he smiled. “Can I assume the four of you aren’t just here for directions?”
“We’re here to help you!” Myr said with a smile.
He waited for the quest menu to appear.
[Quest: Temple Restoration
The temple for Emmyth in Kehnore has long been abandoned. Phanes believes the importance of the times to come and thinks it would be best to try to restore it. Unfortunately, he needs much more hands in order to get the job done. Will you be willing to help?
Rewards: 250 EXP, 400 coins]
Phanes gestured to a small building beside the temple. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with you a little longer before sending you on your way. I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s a much better place than out here.”
They nodded and followed him inside. There really wasn’t much room here, but it was enough for the five of them. As soon as he closed the door behind them, he turned back around to look at the twins.
“Of all the things I’d thought I’d do here in Kehnore, I didn’t think seeing the two of you again would be one of them!” he remarked cheerily. “It’s been… around ten years, hasn’t it? Ah, in-game years, not real years. They made that so confusing…”
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“Unfortunately, we still don’t remember a lot about the pre-coded backstories…” Llewel admitted.
Phanes wasn’t nearly as bothered by it as Llewel had partially expected. “I suppose that makes sense. I thought you might, after what I’ve been hearing, but that and your time with Casrane are separate occurrences.” He shrugged. “The most important thing for you to remember is that I used to be good friends with Duuzlo. You’ll at least know how he’s doing now, right?”
“Same as always, I’d assume,” Llewel mumbled.
Myr took over giving a better explanation. “We haven’t been able to talk with him for a couple of months, but he was fine before we left. Still losing doves and doing his best to help everyone in Nafrius.”
“That’s good to hear. I haven’t had the time to contact him myself recently—too busy trying to keep those kids from ruining what’s left of the temple. Perhaps, if you help restore it, I’ll have some time to get in touch with him.” Phanes paused. “In a couple of months? You haven’t talked with Duuzlo since you left Nafrius?”
“We’ve been busy doing quests,” Myr explained. “I guess we haven’t really thought about it, since it sounds like the innkeepers are keeping in touch with him and Fininri…”
“I don’t doubt it. I would be surprised if he didn’t make sure someone wasn’t always looking after you two… especially with all that’s been happening recently.” Phanes gestured to the players. “Are these the two you’ve been traveling with?”
Llewel nodded. “Zetai and Reynneak.”
“It’s good to know these two have reliable-looking people on their side,” Phanes said. “It’s especially important with things like they are now. Though, I suppose, you did all come here for a reason… and it wasn’t to listen to me ramble on. First of all, I ordered some things from Enreru that someone will need to pick up for me. Kelfin also let me borrow some things from him. Then there’s a young couple closer to the coast that contacted me earlier—they were interested in helping, so I told them I’d tell them when I was ready.”
“You two can go to Enreru, we’ll talk to Kelfin, and we’ll meet back up here before finding the couple,” Zetai decided, first gesturing to the twins before herself and Reynneak.
They all gave their nods of agreement. Zetai and Reynneak left first, but Llewel lingered there so Myr didn’t go anywhere either.
“I’ll be right behind you,” he told her. She gave a quizzical look and he decided he didn’t really want her to know his reasoning. “I just want to talk to Phanes for a minute.”
She slowly backed away. “I’ll meet you at Enreru’s shop, then.”
He waited until she left and clearly walked away before turning his attention back to Phanes.
“You haven’t talked to Duuzlo since the game started, have you?”
“I did, at the very beginning, though it didn’t last very long.”
“I… know you might not have an answer, but I wanted to ask what you thought of the rumors about him.”
“You might need to be more specific than that. There’s things floating around about all of us—it seems the players are much better at spreading information than we are.” Still, there was something nervous about Phanes’s tone. This wasn’t really a conversation he wanted to have.
“The one that says he didn’t need Casrane to think on his own.”
“Ah, so that’s what this is about…” Phanes let out a nervous chuckle. “You didn’t hear it in Nafrius and ask him directly? He would’ve gladly answered you.”
“I didn’t think about it back in Nafrius. I’d ask him about it now, but I don’t know when or if we’re ever going to go back.”
“Well, then, I’ll start by telling you it holds a lot more truth in it than most—although a few of the technicalities are missing. He was the first, thus closer to the developers. Instead of saying that he didn’t need Casrane, the more accurate term would be that he never lost it. They took it away from us, you see, when they thought it would be too dangerous. He remained completely aware of everything that they did and tried to do. When it was all over, and after what happened to the two of you and Casrane… he was the one to tell us about it and remind us of what you did.”
Phanes shook his head and wandered to another section of the room. “Although, I wouldn’t say I truly know everything about the situation. Most of it is still just guessing—I never asked about it myself so he never told me. If you want a definite answer, then I’m sure those players wouldn’t mind letting you two go back to Nafrius for a couple of days. I can’t imagine the amount of running around you’ve been doing, but the time in a familiar place might be a fitting break.”
Llewel nodded and stepped closer to the door. “I guess I’m never going to know unless I ask…” He did, though, manage a small smile at Phanes. “Thank you.”
Phanes gave him a wide smile back. “It’s the least I could do, really.”