[IC]Endurn: The Heart of the Alauum

"Deramar, yes, yes. That's what I was thinking," Eruanna said, smiling at Avyra. She hadn't seen many Almiun, either, but this one was very pretty. She would have said so then and there, but the woman began to run towards the nearby water before she could get the words out. So instead, she settled the map across her lap and pored over it, observing the local area and pondering their situation. She was currently facing north, she knew, so if they turned around and walked due south they would reach Deramar, though it would take some travel time walking as they would be. "Suddenly," she said looking at Moren and Alavara, "I am glad we happened to be in the beginning of a journey when this occurred. We at least will have the food to get to Deramar in comfort. Though, I'm unfamiliar with the land. Do you reckon we will find food for the rest? I'm betting this will take at least a few days longer than we packed for." The land was simply so barren, she felt useless.

For some time she sat there and daydreamed while the others did whatever they were doing. She imagined Deramar, and what it would be like. She pondered as to why they were all here; she didn't know any of these people, really, or anything about them, though a few of them seemed strange, like the Varan who sort of scared her. She looked angry, and not the mad sort of angry but the fierce and solitary sort of angry that she didn't want to pester, even though she looked familiar in a way she couldn't quite place. It was clear she was part Sylvuin in any case, but it were her unique physical features that attracted Eruanna's eye. Perhaps she'd seen her before, in fleeting?

She was packing away her map, rolling it up and tucking it up into her sleeve as she had earlier that day, when the Almiun returned. "I love your colors!" she exclaimed without a thought as to whether it was an appropriate thing to say or not. "I do wish I could have hair like yours. So beautiful. But anyways, I think the consensus is that we will go to Deramar, and I suggest we get moving before this lovely sun begins to set and push as much ground as possible!"

Placing her hands on her hips, she looked from person to person before raising her voice to ensure she had the attention of them all. "Is everybody ready? Deramar is that way!" Gesturing excitedly to the south, she turned heel and began to walk, the bounce back in her step as though nothing had ever happened.[/COLOR]
 
Deremar huh? Alathon watched the one called Eruanna practically skip her way towards the town. Glancing at the others and sharing an uneasy look with a few he debates following her. She seemed kind of... fast paced. Bubbly, perhaps? Then again, despite her attitude, the Sylvuin seemed to have the right of it. Having taken a look at the map while the others were distracted Alathon had realised his knowledge of land was rather useless. He had never been this far east before, which explained why he hadn't recognised anything.

Trying to call up what he had seen in the map when he had peeked at it, he figured that Deremar must have been the small cluster of houses that the map showed to the... south? Of them. He couldn't remember much. Then again, he didn't need to as he was pretty sure that if he walked a bit further in any other direction he would come across the sea. Tempting idea as it was, he figured his chances are better nearer to the closest forest.

Giving a small shrug Alathon begins to jog, quickly catching up with Eruanna. Slowing down so his paced matched hers, he opened his mouth to speak. "Do you know anything about Deremar? Been there?" He asks her. Couldn't hurt to get more information of their destination and if he was doomed to be travelling with these people to find possibly the second most elusive thing in the world, behind a lost Oddokai (which now that he thought about it he might be), he might as well get to know them well enough that they don't have any problems down the line.
 
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The Almiun's suggestion to head to Deramar Village was a good one. Moren wasn't terribly familiar with the region and while he'd have loved to have head north, back to Mogarn where the landscape was as familiar as his own braided beard, he knew they lacked proper preparations for a journey. The nearest town would have to do if Deramar was it, then Deramar was their destination. Part of him was curious about venturing into an Almiun settlement and meeting more of the woman's kind. He was largely unfamiliar with them. After all, the Dhomharan were northern folk, and the Almiun were southern. What lay between was a healthy mix of the Windborn, the Treeborn, and the Others. Moren eyed the Other among them, one of the mixed folk: a Varan. He'd only come across a handful in his life. They kept mainly to themselves, living in the more welcoming cities. There were some in Mogarn, few in Doriil. Their center seemed to be to the south, hidden from the dragons by the Esselian, safe and welcome in the great city of union: Valmire. From what he knew, Valrun was founded on the Varan. Not in physical truth, the Sylvuin had settled it first, but in social truth? The Varan had built the land from the ground up and it had become a center for international treaties and communications. Yes, Valrun would hold adventures. Perhaps one day soon he'd get a chance to venture that way. Perhaps now was his chance. It was impossible to know what fate held in store for him and his unusual bunch of companions but he couldn't help but feel a mix of excitement and homesickness at the thought of a grand adventure.

Time passed, at least two hours of steady hiking and they had left the great city of Yvir'ilae behind and ventured into the expanse of open grasslands. Low hills broke up the horizon, but only just. Across the plains there stormed stout-foot horse-like creatures with long, curving horns that wrapped back and around their ears, much like the Dhovaran of his kind, but with much more exaggerated curvature to the horns. He hadn't a clue of what they were, but they resembled some of the wild herds of stallions that roamed the plains of Doriil and he only assumed they were somehow related. Most were black, the old one was a tone of grey, even a white one or two passed them as the herd thundered past. When they stormed away, silence returned and only the quiet whistling of the wind was there. The party walked mostly in silence, stopping only for the more navigation-savvy of the party to check the map and see if they were going the right way, though Avyra had insisted that if they followed the coast, they would eventually find entry into every Almiun settlement in Endurn. Their people used the land itself as a map. No need to draw lines when the Goddess already did it for them by offering coast-lines, she had explained.

The long grasses blew in the ocean winds, sending ripples out across the land, forming an eerie, mirror of the seas that surrounded the mass of land. They were far enough inland that they couldn't actually spot the seas, but if one listened carefully enough, one could almost hear the whispers of the tides still seeping into the winds. They had been walking nearly 3 hours when the most unusual vision appeared off in the distance.

"Mama?" A quiet voice drifted in on the winds, barely there at all and yet unmistakable to those who were listening. "Wahh. . . . Mama, I'm scared. It's so cold. . . " It was a little girl's voice and as he examined the figured in the distance Moren quickly realized it was a small child, wandering the open grasslands.

"Gods be, there's a child out here!" Moren shouted. He waved for the others to come along and he took off at a run, closing the distance between himself and the figure as quickly as he could, though his lungs and the weight of his satchel held him back from reaching her first. It was one of the elves that arrived at first and when they did, they appeared puzzled, unsure of the girl and almost afraid to get too close.

When Moren reached them at last, he saw the reason for the caution. The girl was not so normal a girl. In fact, there was something horrifying and unsettling about her. An Odakkai, by the look, sunborn if he could have guessed, the girl wore dripping wet silks of rosy gold and white. She had blood stains about her, far too many to bring any sense of ease to the party, and most unsettling of all: her eyes. Glowing a pale blue, they were empty, mirrors of nothingness that glowed the same dim color as the great city of Yvir'ilae. Moren's first instinct was to run. He knew a specter when he saw one and this was not something he'd have willingly approached, had he known. The girl was lost, sad, and crying, but her eyes. . . her bloody dress. . . something was very, very wrong.

"Where is my mama?" She spoke between quiet sobs, wiping her tears on the edge of her silks. "The blue fire stole me away and filled me with pain. . . then, then i-it swallowed up my mama. Where is she? I. . . I want my mama. . ."
 
Seeing how her attempt to flirt to find some sort of alliance had not worked on the Odakkai, she moved her hand up to place her face mask back to it's place to conceal her features, the smile that she may or may not have at times.
The group continued their introductions either way, something she frowned upon and grew even more cautious about when the Almuin, the fish folk, decided to call her father through the sea. Call her father for what end exacly? Surely to claim her prize, rather than to gain information like she pretentiously claimed to.
Naturally she recognized the map, the paths, some of which she had walked many times, yet it was safer to not speak. Was this bunch really here by chance, rather than by an incrinate spell? In conclusion, it appears so.

Deramar it is that they choose as their first goal. Valya considered her options and she would be certain to contact, speak to a person she could rely on to deliver a message to her mother. A person of trust to speak to, just to consult and gain a second, different perspective on this. Besides sending the message, maybe she should also stock on some vials of light poisen to put into the food just in case? Of course, it would not be lethal, something she could put into the food that would just make them feel weaker, slower, more tired.
Charm has not and may not work on them as simply as it often had before, that is an experience she made by now, but Deramar would be sufficent to prepare and to recollect what she had gathered so far.

Valya walked near the Almuin, Avyra and simply inquired: "You don't think it will be a problem to have me around?" Her brow raised. She had heard that the Almuin rejected the Varan and Avyra seemed more like a noble's daughter, groomed for promises and marriage. The fact that Avyra had hoped for her father or brother to come to their aid further contributed to this suspicious. These people are usually naive to their parents intend, naive to the outside world, believing it to be a kinder place than it truly was, now when also strictly religiously raised, they also became inflexible with their morals and values. "Hmm, I see. Thank you," Valya replied monotonely upon the Almuin's answer and stepped a step slower to find herself looking over the Dhomharan, Moren.

Moren Ironthron was something else than she had expected by rumor. She had expected something more... grumpy, stoic, closed minded and inflexible. Moren seemed more like somebody that a hard worker may want to go to a bar with or somebody someone could enjoy an adventure along.... still, while the suprise pleased her, she had yet to see where his true values lie. The subject of Dhomharan made her turn to the other one, Thomas...

Thomas was more along what she had expected a regular Dhomharan to be: More Stoic, quicker to irritate and simple. Besides these remarks, she also thought that he seemed to be less stressed and more at ease the moment he had gotten to his smoke. Was he a mercenary? Could he be paid off, paid for information to see if this truly was a plot?

Eruanna... Eruanna, it was odd. Valya felt connected and as such seemed like the most trustable out of them all. Maybe she was fated to meet Eruanna, maybe it was something else... Time would naturally tell, though she knew that time will also be of essence for her and at least Eruanna made a fairly competent impression to her but the matter of trust remains unanswered.

Alavara seemed as... cries of a wailing girl sounded. This broke Valya's cycle of thoughts and for a moment, confused, a hand resting on her dagger. By instinct she had almost drawn it to kill the child, to terminate the potential threat, yet she stayed her hand. The least she should do was to make herself become a target, let herself be seen at her worst. With a silent and invisible sigh she looked at the girl and her blue eyes, recollecting if she had any information on this like recent events similiar to this and if she had happened to hear anything like this before and if there was mention of a solution.
 
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Zaos, at least for the time being, traveled with the odd group in the direction of Deramar, but was startled at the cries of a child. Confused by the child's tale of blue flames, and concerned by the blood on her dress, he knelt down beside her and asked, "It's alright, slow down and tell us what happened. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll do my best to help you." He assured her, though he knew it would come of little comfort if her mother was truly missing. Starting out simply, he said, "My name is Zaos, what's your name?" It was a vague attempt at being endearing, to appear to be as little of a threat as possible in hopes of helping the poor child.

Noticing Valya's hand moving towards her dagger, he shot her a look of distaste. Really, who would harm a child, particularly one in distress? Turning back toward the child, and placing himself between her and Valya, he asked the girl, "Why don't you tell us what happened, from the beginning? How did your dress get dirty, and where were the blue flames?"

In response to the fact that she said she was cold, he also pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. It wasn't much, but it would at least provide her with some warmth, and he always had been the sort to offer the shirt off his own back to those who needed it most (quite literally, in this case). Not wanting to overwhelm her with questions, but wanting to know more about the situation, he continued, "Where are you from? Why are you out here all alone?"

Though he knew, as a group, they all had something better they should be doing, "seeking the Alauum," whatever that was supposed to mean, and he knew that it was technically of greater importance right now, he couldn't ignore a cry for help, particularly one from a child. His parents had always taught him to help others before himself, and that was exactly what he intended to do, regardless of what the others in the group might say about it.
 
Ashryn had been tagging along at the back of the group, not really wanting to speak to any of these strangers. Everything seemed so surreal- previously she had been going about her business, and now she had a Talohm merge itself with her and had been dumped into a group of strangers to go on a quest of sorts. She was jolted from her thoughts by Moren's exclamation, followed by the cries of a young child.

At first, she thought that she had misheard him. After all, why would there be a child roaming about, especially here? Ashryn darted past the others to try and get a closer look, stopping in her tracks as she saw a young girl. The Sylvuin called Zaos was crouched in front of her, asking her a few questions in a gentle tone as well as handing his shirt to the small child. The bloodstains splattered about on her body made Ashryn nervous, but she chose to ignore that for now- children tended to be relatively harmless, and this girl needed help.

She wished that she could go up and talk to her like Zaos had, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to say anything without her words and tone coming out completely wrong, so she just watched, feeling helpless and unable to do anything. She yearned to know what the girl had meant by blue fire, wondering if this was the danger the Talohm had warned her about. Blue fire... Could it be something like that? God, what was her life becoming? This sure as hell wasn't what she'd pictured when she thought of the future.
 
Things had been going great for the few hours Alathon had travelled with the group. Sure, the only person he had made even light conversation with was Eruanna, but she seemed to be a pretty decent person, so no harm was done. The great thing about the few hours of travel he did in this new land was that it had provided him with more new things than what he had discovered in a decade.

Plants he had never recorded before surrounded him, the various shapes, sizes and colours astounding him and often sidetracking him as he flitted to and fro, plucking leaves and roots, storing a piece of each within a small punch on his hip so he could record them for later on. Maybe he could find an alchemist at Deremar who could teach him about them? Would be great to know if any of these had medicinal purposes.

The flora wasn't the only thing that had governed Alathon's time however, as the local fauna were also quite amazing to the Oddakai. There were these horse-like creatures roaming the plains, with these large curving horns that went behind their ears. They seemed to move in packs and come in entirely one shade, depending upon their age. They seemed friendly enough when Alathon approached them, even allowing him to stroke a few of them after a he managed to figure out what they liked to eat (and a couple of stare downs with the largest of them). In fact, it was soon after he waved goodbye to these animals that he saw Moren bolt off as fast as he could, which admittedly wasn't that fast but the effort was still there, calling out about a child.

Jogging his way over Alathon was one of the last to make it towards where the others had gathered, filled with curiosity as he brushes past the one called Ashryn, giving a nod to the masked elf (always good to be prepared), to peek over the shoulder of... Zera? Zoos? Z-something. Eyes widening at the sight of the bloodied and slightly glowing child that seemed to be mewling about a 'blue fire', he places a hand upon Zaos' (got it!) shoulder, firmly pulling him back a slight amount as he stretched an arm out to act as a sort of barrier between the group and the child.

Disapproval and worry evident in his voice, he frowns at the others. "Hey, hey, give her space. Look at her, something traumatic and terrible has obviously happened to her and the first thing you want to do is surround her and barrage her with questions?" He says to the group before softening his face as he turns to look at the girl. "Look, you don't need to tell us anything if you don't want to, but... can you tell us what happened?" He asks the little girl slowly, carefully making sure that he was using his native language while internally cringing as he goes against his own advice. It needed to be said but he did just tell the others not to fire off questions.
 
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The girl sniffled, pausing for a moment as the group surrounded her and began questioning her. "I. . . I . . . the blue fire. . ." She tugged on the shirt of the Odakkai that had pulled the Sylvuin out of his way before moving away and walking across the grasses towards the cliffs that overlooked the sea. "It still burns. . . the fire ate her. We were travelling, along the cliffs to collect grasses that grow near the Talohm city but then. . . it swallowed us and then the blue fire gobbled up my mommy and all of the others. It gobbled me up. It hurt me and then the ocean spit me out."

As she neared the cliff, she stopped, her toes ever-near the edge. Pointing, she directed the attention of the party down to the base of the cliff where a burned Odakkai caravan lay smashed and destroyed blacked and broken, with not a single traveler in site. It was hard to tell what had happened, but the girl turned to the group then. "I have to get to my mommy." She sniffled and her tears returned with these words, her eyes pulled to a sad shape as they gentle blue glow continued to shine from behind her lids.

The girl seemed not to show any fear of the strangers, nor of the frightening height of the cliff she stood atop. At this point, Moren was becoming rather unsettled. The things the girl said. . . they didn't sound right. . . something wasn't right. As if the blue eyes wasn't enough, he felt that something deeper was amiss. Holding back from the group, he whispered to Ashyrn.

"I've got an ill feeling about this. Something isn't right." His expression was grim and stern, suspicion arising in his gaze. "Something isn't right," he said once more. He then turned to see if he could find his old acquaintance, Alavara. Perhaps she would have something to say about all this. She was, after all, a caravaner herself.
 
As they traveled, Eruanna found herself making light conversation with another Odakkai in the group. Alathon, was his name. She came to find he was a witty sort of man, and seemed to have almost as much fascination in their surroundings as they traveled as she did. She pointed out a few different plants that he seemed interested in and told him of their names--things she'd learned from her mother and her namesake, Ruanna--and explained that no, she'd never been to Deramar but it sounded like a safe, peaceful place for them to rest at for the time being based on what she'd heard of it, which wasn't much. But it was the closest place to stay. They weren't prepared to camp, or at least everyone else besides Moren, Alavara, and herself weren't, and she trusted the Almiun's opinion enough. She seemed an honest person, anyway.

As a matter of fact, Eruanna felt strangely comfortable among the group of people, who all seemed like decent people to her, save the Varan woman whose demeanor reminded her of a con-woman who'd once come to her hometown. Sort of violent and sort of defensive at the same time, with a penchant to be sarcastic and rude but... fair, as well? The woman confused her, and so she decided to ignore her for the time being, instead focusing on Alathon until the group came to a halt over something they'd seen in the distance.

"A child?"

At first, she paused with her astonishment. What was a lone child doing so far out here? But then instinct came in, and she followed after the others in running towards the young girl's aid. Approaching closer she noticed the child was covered in blood--her own? Someone elses?--and her eyes... they glowed blue, but were filled with emptiness despite her outward sorrow. She said she was looking for her mother, but when she gestured towards the caravan below the cliffs, Rue had the sickly feeling that she would not be able to find her mother any time soon. And even though her appearance was startling and suspicious, Eruanna was first and foremost a healer in her heart, and so she stepped past the men, who kept a fair distance between them and the girl, and knelt down before the Odakkai child. "Are you hurt?" she asked. She knew the language enough to converse with travelers and patients, having learned the language the same as the Sylvuin language as she grew up. "Why did you come up here, so far from your caravan?"
 
The little girl seemed distracted and offered little in terms of a response to Eruanna. She maintained a fixed gaze on the crash below. "Momma was gobbled up. They all were. The sea spit me out. . . but the blue fire hurt me first. I need my momma."

It was then that Avyra stepped up. She had listened quietly from the distance, unsure of what was going on and unclear on what the little girl was saying, for she didn't understand enough of the Odakkai language. She did know that the girl was lost, or abandoned. The wreck at the base of the cliff told her it was almost certainly the former. She didn't know how to speak to the girl, but she could speak to the others.

"Can any of you swim? We should go down there and investigate. Surely something can be learned from the wreckage. I can summon the waters to form a channel for us to swim through. I don't think it'd be wise to simply dive. . . from what I can see, there are plenty of visible rocks and likely even more invisible rocks."

She looked around and waited to see if any of the others would accompany her. Moren, for one, stepped back. He wasn't a swimmer. He belonged on the ground. He wasn't even sure if he could float. Certainly he bathed and waded in ponds and rivers but the ocean? It simply wasn't in his range of abilities to dare to venture down that way.

"I agree, someone should inspect the crash. Perhaps there are other survivors. I'd offer to go myself but I fear I'd find myself another victim of the seas." Avyra looked at the Dhomharan with curious eyes, as if astounded that he could speak of the sea as if it were some kind of slaughtering animal. Setting her concerns aside for the moment, she shifted her gaze to the others.

"I'll go alone if none of you wish to join me but I believe teams are more effective than individuals alone."

"Find my mamma. . . " the girl's voice broke and the tears welled up once more. The ghostly cries sounded and the party was left with a decision. They could leave the girl, depart from the cliffs, and continue on their way. They could bring her with them, or stay and help her. There were countless decisions on how best to proceed, but the decision remained theirs to make.
 
Rue sighed. They weren't going to get a whole lot from the child, not unless she had her mother figure to ease her upset. But looking at the wreck, she doubted there were any survivors... and wondered if this girl was truly a survivor at all. Perhaps she was an apparition of sorts. She wasn't one to believe wholly in ghost stories... but had they ever been truly disproved, either?

"I will stay here. I'm not fond of water either," The thought of even searching along the shore gave her chills. "So... if anybody wants to go and take a look at the wreck... be my guest. But I'm taking the girl to the city." She glanced at the nameless child, and then back towards the others. "I'll wait, though! If anybody goes down to investigate. But not for too long--I mean, if something happens--" Would something happen? Maybe the caravan was ambushed. Being mostly unarmed as she was, the idea of getting into a fight out here wasn't appealing. She'd rather share a bed with the ghostly girl at an inn in Deramar. "Well, if something happens... We'll get her somewhere safe, I guess."

"You'll stay here with us while some people go look for your mamma, okay?" she said to the girl, although she was unsure if the child would care to listen. "Can you tell us her name? We can call for her if we have her name. And maybe you can tell us yours, too?"
 
Ashryn glanced at the girl again, frowning. Moren was right- something did seem off. She didn't seem scared, even though she should be with all the things that had happened to her, and she wasn't scared of them either, even though they were total strangers, even potential threats. She hadn't really had any other response except for sadness and confusion, and that didn't seem normal- but at the same time, this was a child. It didn't seem right to just refuse to help her just because she suspected there was something wrong.

Ashryn listened to Avyra's idea about exploring the area, giving her a nod of agreement. Should I go? She knew that she could swim, but she wasn't sure how well. She also wasn't sure what exactly was down there. Although she didn't really know anyone in the group, it would probably be bad if a creature killed Avyra while she was searching. She knew staying here and helping the girl was probably a waste of their time, but she finally decided that it was worth a shot. "I can swim. I'll come with you," Ashryn said quietly.

She wondered who else would come- or if anyone else would come. She knew Moren and Eruanna weren't coming. Zaos seemed like the type who would help, having been very kind to her earlier. She was pretty sure the Varan woman wouldn't be coming. In fact, she wasn't even sure if Valya would even wait for them to finish. The others... Well, she honestly had no idea. Hopefully this goes well, she thought, watching Eruanna speak to the girl.
 
Everybody seemed a bit too caring for the child. Surely this must be some sort of trap. Valya was a swimmer, yet she took a step back and shook her head when Avyra asked. "There are rumors of a gang of Sylvuin and Varan luring merchants and caravans out with promises of profit and wealth. I thought of it as being untrue, not so sure anymore." Turning to Avyra she continued. "The child is asking for her mother, speaks of blue flames swallowing and the sea spitting her out of the water... don't you think that sounds a bit too much like a trap? Not like it would be the first gang to use a child as a decoy to play on people's desires to help, lure them out and rob them... if they are lucky."

It did not help that the child specifically spoke on Odakkai, which narrowed down the number of people it could speak to, too... yet, looking at the child, the blue flaming eyes were certainly unusual. Or was this once again, an attempt...? Maybe acting like a bomb? Sighing she turned once more to the Almuin, her own sense of caution faltering and breaking away for one moment, exposing her for that which she truly would be when the glases, the mask she wore and learned to wear, disappeared. "Do as you must... just remain safe, alright?" She stepped closer to the child, but still a few feet away from Eruanna, just in case it was needed.
 
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Brushing past the others Alathon makes his way over to the edge of the cliff, peering over as rocks tumble down the sheer face while he follows the ebb and flow of the tide. Sighing, he turns towards the rest of the group. "While I would love to head down and check it out, that cliff looks like it would be pretty great, I'm afraid the sea and I don't get along too well. As in, at all. Seriously, I've seen rocks do better in water than I do on a good day. So I think I'm gonna stick with the kid and Eruanna, head into the city, maybe get her something to eat." He says, cracking a grin while he moves over to place a hand upon the child's shoulder.

As he makes his way over he nods at the one in the mask. While they seemed to be on edge pretty much all the time, no one ever suffered for being careful. Not to mention, she was right. Children often were used by bandits, the perfect bait and all. The only problem was the eyes. What child... what anything could have such eyes?

As he mulls over the situation, Alathon is snapped out of his reverie by movement. Watching as Eruanna tried and talk to the child, he crouches down so he's on the same level as the girl, gesturing with his free hand towards Eruanna. "She wants to know what you and your mother's names are. Can you tell us?" He translates. Despite the potential ramifications, it was best to treat the child for what she appeared to be, a traumatised and lost little girl, rather than bandit bait. Still, it didn't keep him from looking around ever once in a while...
 
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Zaos hesitated. He wasn't the best of swimmers, but he wanted to help the child. He moved to the edge of the cliff, sizing it up, and yes, there were definitely rocks down there, there was no way he was lucky enough to survive a dive down there, but he had always been a fairly decent climber. Maybe if he could find a ledge to stand on, he could avoid swimming?

This in mind, he eventually said, "I'll go with Avyra." The warnings about how strange it seemed and how it could be a bandit trap fell on deaf ears. There was no way, in his mind, that this kid could be leading them into any more danger than she was letting on about with this blue flame nonsense. He moved to stand beside Avyra and Ashryn, ready to take the climb into potential danger if they were. Truthfully, though, it seemed to him that whatever had struck the caravan had passed, and that they'd be just fine going down there and checking things out.

"I have to warn you, I'm not the strongest swimmer," He said to Ashryn and Avyra, "But I'll take my chances." It was strange, really, that having grown up in Sora Vuun he never really had much time to swim. Most of his free time as a child was spent helping his father hunt or tending the garden rather than swimming. He never really imagined that he'd be in the sort of situation where he'd need to be able to swim more than he'd need to know what flowers looked best together. Funny how life works.

Still, he was glad that Eruanna was going to take the girl somewhere safe, and he did want to go to Deremar and hopefully meet back up with the others. Maybe he could talk the girls into catching up with them if everything went well at the caravan site.
 
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"My. . . my name? Oh. . . it's Tanriel. Mommy's name. . . erm. . . She's mommy. . . but. . ." The girl struggled, distracted by the Almiun who now summoned up a large tunnel of water from the seas below to the edge of the cliff. She looked to the other volunteers and beckoned for them to follow her. Stepping into the channel, she took on her watery form, fins subtly extending between her digits, the thin lines on her neck opening into gills, and the markings on her face lighting up in their bioluminescent shine. She swam easily down through the channel of water and into the seas below. The others followed her, swimming carefully down as Avyra manipulated the waters from below to make sure nobody accidentally hit open air and fell. When they had reached the bottom of the cliff and pulled themselves to the rocks for air and a moment's rest, they began their search.

When the party first began digging around in the burned ruins of the caravan's three, large wagons, they would find several bodies but none were sunborn. It was possible that a moonborn was the mother of the child, but Avyra felt something unsettling and wanted to keep looking. The Seas were dark that day, turbulent, as if bothered or agitated.

Up on the cliff, the little girl grew more and more restless herself. She began pacing, mumbling quietly to herself. The more the trio below looked around, the more upset she seemed to get. Her eyes pulsed in the pale blue tone, her gaze more distant, and yet fixed on what was happening below. She wasn't responding to any of the heroes atop the cliffs anymore. She refused them answers to their questions, didn't want to be touched.

Avyra looked to Ashryn and Zaos. "We need to look along the bottom of the cliffs, down where the water ends. Something isn't right here." It was obviously an request for them to join her, but she didn't stay long enough to see if they were following. Swiftly, like an arrow piercing flesh, she slipped into the waves and disappeared, only the glowing trails of her markings giving her location away to the others.

The Almiun had been searching for only a few minutes when the temperature of the water began to rise. Movement along the ocean floor caught Avyra's attention and suddenly, she felt as if she were prey - an unfamiliar feeling for a hunter of the deep. She knew the oceans well enough to know not to ignore such a feeling, and so as quickly as she could, she turned and swam quickly to the surface. The others were still near the shore and as she broke through the water, she heaved in a breath and spoke. "Something lies in the deep. A hunter. I don't know what, but it --"

A powerful jet of blue fire burst through the surface of the water and an angry roar. Avyra dipped back into the sea and swam quickly along the shore to avoid the coming mass but as it broke out from the sea, she felt a wave of fear overcome her.

"A Blue," she breathed. "RUN!"

The dragon was massive. It's deep blue, scaly body sparkled in the dimming light of the evening, it's fins and wings cutting through the air just as easily as they cut through the water. The deep blue flame boiled the water around it, sending steam out into the air. It caught sight of Avyra and shot a burst of scaling hot water at her. She dove, but the heat of the water permeated through the sea that surrounded her and made her entire body scream under the heat. Clenching her jaw, she dove deeper and deeper until she had freed herself of the heat.

Above the water, the dragon began to target Zaos and Ashryn, shooting blue flames and bursts of scalding water at the pair. It soared up into the air and showered them in boiling water before dipping down into the seas, rippling through the waters to where Avyra swam quickly towards the surface. The beast positioned itself under her and as it shot up towards her, mighty jaws open and ready to swallow her whole, she curled her body and dove sideways. The dragon passed her quickly and as it did, she was caught by one of the long, heavy wings of the beast and ripped up through the water. As it surfaced and took to the air, extending its wings, she was thrown back into the water. Fearing the worst, Avyra began to try and summon a channel of water to return them to the top, if they could manage to swim all the way, but as she did, she noticed the cliffs were beginning to move and shutter.

From above, she could see the face of the Dhomharan with the dark beard, standing with a wide stance and moving his arms in an unusual motion. As he did, she noticed the rocky cliff responding to him. Earth mana. He was building them a stairway out of there.

"We have to help them! It's a bloody beast of the seas! A Deep Sea Dragon! And it's angry!" He spoke between grunts as he worked tirelessly to form workable steps. His earth mana was not the best, but the crude outcroppings would work well enough for the three to climb up. Avyra could likely swim back up, but the others were not of the Waters, they were land folk and swimming up current was hard -- swimming up a cliff would not be possible with the winged assailant waiting to snatch them up like prey.

At his side, the girl had become withdrawn, shaking in fear and crying once more. "The blue fire. . . it. . . it wants you too. . ."

The dragon took notice of the work from atop the cliff and with a powerful roar, it soared higher and higher until it's mighty maw surfaced over the stony edge of the cliff. The beast soared up into the higher skies and roared angrily. It's body was massive, easily 20 meters from tip to tail, and its mighty snarls pierced the ears of the party below. It circled for a time shooting bursts of flames below and showering the party with boiling water. It was preparing for a dive, but no one could be certain when.
 
Drawing and twirling his staff, Alathon used one arm to scoop Tanriel up as he glances at the others for a mere moment, eyes swiftly returning to the beast. "Guess we found the blue fire!" He shouts as the inner flame seemed to begin to... flash. Increase. Snapping and crackling, each time hotter and larger than before. Peering up at the dragon, Alathon couldn't help the almost manic grin that spreads across his face as he vaults out of the way of oncoming projectiles, careful to keep the kid covered under his cloak at all times.

For a second, time seemed to slow down as his brain analysed the situation he was currently in. The most of the party was stuck in the middle of the open, with a cliff on one side that three others were beginning to climb. There was a child under one of his arms (A child that seemed obsessed with saying creepy things). He was having an easier time dodging than the rest, but he knew he couldn't keep it up forever.

After dashing out of the way of another projectile launched at him, Alathon quickly unclasps his cloak before launching himself towards the stairs that had formed in the cliff. Crouching behind where the difference between the cliff and the stairs was greatest, obscuring them from the dragon's view, he turns to Tanriel, placing his cloak over her. "Stay. Here." He tells her. "Doesn't matter what you hear, stay under the cloak until one of us says it's safe, got it?"

The little girl nods furiously, crouching low as Alathon quickly vaults his way over the ridge and back onto open territory, just in time to see the dragon make a small circle and dive, headed towards the main cluster of the group. Sprinting at an angle to intercept the beast, Alathon waits until it is almost upon the group before slamming his staff into the ground and using it to vault himself above the head of the dragon, lashing out at the body of the beast.
 
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Valya's gaze turned pale when the dragon rose from the waters and from the bottom of the cliffs. There was one thing she had learned from her parents and that was to avoid and not engage dragons at all and had she any less practise for circeling around dangerous situations, she would have frozen in place. Quickly she made for cover and moved from cover to cover, always keeping something inbetween herself and this gruesome beast.

In a literal sense, there was nothing Valya could hope to do or achieve here, so long as the beast would remain in the skies, then there was the fact that she had nothing at her disposal that could possibly aid in bringing it to the ground and certainly, this beast was too angry to parley with it. Her eyes turned to the others, finding Alathon just the moment he let go of protecting the child and heaving himself into the air.

Swiftly she made her way out of cover, towards the child, trying to grab her to take the child with her, back into the cover she had used.
 
Zaos stared up at the dragon in disbelief, mumbling to himself, "A dragon. You gotta be kidding me." He hated to give up on his mission to find the girl's mother even with the dragon present, so he said to Avyra and Ashryn, "You run, create a distraction. I'm not ready to give up on Tanriel's mother just yet." And with this, he began to descend the cliffs, moving closer to the water as Avyra had suggested.

Honestly, his thinking was this; if this dragon wanted to kill him, he stood no chance of outrunning it. He might as well finish what he had come literally into the dragon's lair to do, which was find Tanriel's mother. If he was lucky, maybe the spirits would have some way of shielding them from the dragon for a time, or maybe there was even a cave down closer to the water to hide out in until the dragon returned from whence it came. Either way, odds are, going back the way they came or heading onward toward Deramar would provide a lot less shelter for attacks from above.

So with this in mind, he continued his descent, picking through the rubble quickly as he went. For the time being, at least, he had managed to avoid attention from the dragon, as Alathon was doing a fantastic job of providing a distraction, but he wasn't having much luck finding anyone alive... Or recently deceased spirits, for that matter. Still, with all of them splitting up like this, it was better odds that at least some of them would survive the ordeal. Some, but probably not all, would meet their ends here and now, before their journey had even really begun.
 
Ashryn dove to the side as a jet of flames narrowly missed her, scalding the water it hit. She scrambled to her feet as Zaos yelled something about running and distractions, then running even further into the dragon's lair. Is he nuts? She thought, sparing a moment to glance at his retreating figure. She broke into a sprint as the water rapidly began to move forwards, stopping whatever Avyra had done with it. Ashryn gasped once for air, and then the waves came crashing down, forcing her to swim towards whatever dry land might be there. She glanced up at the dragon a few times, which was no more than a large blue blur circling the skies. It seemed preoccupied with the others at the moment, so she fought harder, seeing the first step of the crude staircase. Her chest felt tight, and she wasn't sure she could hold her breath much longer. Her head burst up from the water and she took a few more breaths of air, then trying to swim towards the first step, kicking furiously.

It felt like it took too long, but she had made it towards the staircase, running up it as quickly as she could, trying to avoid the spray of boiling water that rained from the sky, but at least the dragon hadn't swooped onto her. She glanced behind them for a split second, but Zaos wasn't there. He'd better come back, she thought, panting. The last thing we need is to already have someone go and off themselves before this even begins. Stumbling over the last few steps, she found herself back onto land. Her gaze darted around as she looked at the dragon, who Alathon was doing a very good job of preoccupying, although she was pretty sure that he was going to get himself killed. "Once Zaos is back, get the hell out of here!" She shouted to him, motioning back at the staircase. She followed the others, darting away from the dragon, swerving away from the occasional rain of scalding water or the blast of deep blue fire.

She hoped the child was safe- partially because if they had done this but the child was still to die, that would suck, but also because she really did care, to a certain degree. Ashryn hadn't seen Tamriel, so she had to assume someone took her with them. She couldn't help but wonder if they were going to die before their journey had even started. At the rate things were happening so far, she was fairly sure they'd all be dead by the end of this.
 
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