Mistaken for a Returnee

The members of Mag Ársa and the scouting team followed the edge of the ravine from the beach towards what remained of the city.

The geography of this island was… different, to say the least. From what Sulika and Faeyra explained to Aldritch, Azuris had a mostly moderate climate, with little in the way of humidity or rainfall. This supposedly held true for most areas of the island.

Whereas, aside from the miasma, wildfires, and monsters, this island was a tropical paradise. Aldritch could feel the air sticking to his skin due to the humidity. He could smell the rain that would fall in a few hours time, the mineral rich soil beneath their feet, and the pungent scent of vegetation that blocked out almost everything else.

He wondered what the island looked like in its prime, before the demons took over.

He imagined it was quite beautiful.

However, his musings were cut short as they reached the first obstacle of their adventure.

"What're we going to do now?" Sulika asked, gazing up at the four-hundred-foot-tall cliff in front of them.

"Climb it?" Zarud replied, though even he looked unconvinced they could actually do it.

"Maybe some of us could, but the rest would never make it." Oladi was staring at the cliff and attempting to find a path up- but if a one did exist, she couldn't see it.

The cliff was smooth, almost to the point of looking unnatural. And any handholds were few and far between. Someone tall like Aldritch, Zarud, and maybe even Faeyra could possibly find a way up. But it was an impossible climb for the rest of them.

"I believe it's time we go our own way." Captain Reszu said, getting the attention of both groups. "We need to survey the island, anyway, so might as well find our own way up."

"Understood. Good luck, Captain." Aldritch replied, bidding the captain goodbye with a smile and a nod.

"Safe journeys." Max said before making his way over and shaking her hand- however, just before the captain could pull away, he pulled her in close and whispered something in her ear.

Whatever he said caused Reszu's eyes to widen. She backed away from the GM with a worried look in her eyes and commanded her team to follow her.

As they jogged away through the trees, Max returned to the group and stared at Aldritch.

"Problem?"

"None so far." Aldritch turned back to the cliff and contemplated his next move.

"You could carry them up. Wouldn't take much time at all."

"I know. But if I started doing everything for them, I'd never learn what they were capable of. Whatever obstacles we come across; I need to see them handle it."

"Are you sure that's wise? What if they use up all their energy walking and are too tired to fight demons?"

"I won't pave the way for them, but I'll not see them die either… Even if I have to bring them back myself."

"Aldritch, you're not planning to-"

"Thoughts, Guild Master?" Faeyra asked, approaching Aldritch on his right side.

"Does anyone have a way to map our surroundings?"

"I do" Oladi raised her hand. "I have a familiar who can fly above us."

"Druids can share their familiar's senses, yes?"

"We can." She nodded.

"Perfect. Please summon your familiar."

Oladi nodded and took a few steps away from the group. Once she was a fair distance away, she closed her eyes and focused.

"Sylthen Laiara, Thaelorn vas Laithnor. (Eternal mother, Guardian of the Living World.)" She chanted, bringing her free hand to her chest - her index and middle fingers formed a cross, while her ring finger, pinky and thumb curled inwards until they touched her palm.

"Vaan ves valar tolnar vel shael tasar.(Hear my call where darkness falls.)" Her mana surged and the plants around her feet reacted to it, some shifting hues to a bright green while any that could flower bloomed rapidly.

Small vines grew from the ground to coil around her feet, seemingly without her notice- Zarud kneeled beside her and carefully unwrapped the vines; much to Aldritch's amusement.

So, there was more to their relationship than he'd initially expected… Interesting.

"Vel dora vel Garanai lanorin sarai, Lethai vanath oronar vel nairathai. (Hear my call where shadows fall. From the realm where Ravens take flight, I beg thee summon a creature of the night.)" Her mana continued to swell. Each word, every syllable made her eyes shine brighter and brighter until it looked like she'd burst.

"Vala norath, saar vel thael, renai ves shaelor vel saen loriel. Maeren vel nair, thael ves orin, veyn ves norai, O' Sylvetha-lir. Vaan ves sorai, vaan ves lor, vel laeth nor, vel daeth mor. (Eyes of black, wings like the sky, draw them forth from where you lie. Cloak of night, heart so wild, be now my eyes, oh Mother's child. Guide my path, be my sight, on brightest day, or darkest night.) She finished while bringing up her right arm, palm facing towards the sky.

"Thaelorn vas Laithnor: Thalorin (Summon Familiar: Thalorin)" A distant raven's cry reached everyone's ears at the exact moment Oladi finished her spell and released her mana into the air- the next second saw a large Raven swoop out of the sky to land gently on Oladi's left shoulder.

"This is Thalorin, one of my familiars. Say hello." She said while looking at the large raven.

"Hello." The Raven replied, his voice surprisingly deep for a bird.

"Fascinating." Aldritch muttered. He circled Oladi a few times to inspect the bird from every angle. "Forgive my asking- Druid familiars are constructs, not living creatures. Yes?"

Oladi chose to remain silent, and the Raven watched Aldritch with a dangerous gleam in his black eyes.

Aldritch chuckled at their response but respected it. "Understood. I retract my question, and you may proceed."

Oladi looked to Thalorin, who seemed to understand what she wanted without having to be told- The large bird leapt from Oladi's shoulder and flew toward the treetops, seemingly disappearing the moment it passed through the lowest level of leaves.

"Oh…" Oladi whispered, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes?" Aldritch asked.

"What do you see, Oladi?" Sulika said, stepping closer to Oladi.

"For an island that fell out of the sky, the buildings seem to be in remarkable condition." Oladi replied, but her eyes were vacant as if she were in a trance.

"I noticed that too." Aldritch nodded. "I think the demons may have been rebuilding the island piece by piece."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"You think the demons are capable of that?" Max asked.

"I think they're capable of much more than they're given credit for. Destruction may be in their blood, but they're not mindless."

Everyone went quiet at that.

The silence was only broken a few seconds later by Aldritch asking if Thalorin found a way up.

"Yes, this way." She said, pointing back the way they'd come.

"Understood. Oladi, Zarud, and Max will act as the Vanguard. Sulika and I will act as the Rearguard. And Faeyra and Ralocan will be in the center, helping whoever needs it the most. Everyone clear on that?"

"Yes!" They replied in unison.

Oladi began walking with Zarud and Max following just behind her. The three set a relatively fast pace for the group, which Aldritch assumed to be under the direction of Max- judging by the dirty looks Zarud kept sending him.

Speaking of Zarud, he'd surprised Aldritch once again. The half-orc had pulled out a notepad and a pencil from his back pocket and was writing down everything Oladi said about the island.

"From what Thalorin can see, the island is convex in shape. And though we couldn't see it whilst inside the compartment, possibly due to the angle of descent, the city appears to be protected on all sides by natural cliffs."

"Are there gaps?" He asked while writing something down.

"Thalorin sees two; both are narrow passages through the cliffs to someplace outside the city. Though there may be more on the other side of the island… This island is fascinating."

"How so?" Faeyra asked while looking at the plants they passed. Most were common herbs or weeds, but some were worth a fortune to an alchemist.

She made a mental note to come back later and collect everything she could.

"It's practically a living maze: The trees block your line of sight, leading you to the cliffs. The cliffs block your path forward, forcing you to turn around and look for alternative paths- except in doing so, you run the risk of running into the rivers and quicksand beds."

"There're rivers here?" Zarud asked, still writing something on his notepad.

"I see three major rivers, two on the eastern side of the island, and one on the western side. And all of them are basically uncrossable in their current state."

"Why is that?" Ralocan asked.

"Where would you go if the only home you'd ever known was burning down around you?"

"And I can't extinguish it myself?"

"Right."

"I… Would probably find somewhere I could go to escape the flames. Either somewhere high up or-" His jaw snapped shut.

"Or?" Oladi prompted.

"Somewhere with a lot of water?"

"Good." She nodded. "You had the same idea as every other animal on the island."

"The animals survived the wildfire?" Max asked, simultaneously relieved they'd survived and confused as to how they'd done so.

"I doubt they all survived, but a few thousand seem to have made it to the rivers okay."

Sulika rotated her head to see Aldritch staring off into the distance.

"Did you save them?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"I did not."

"Then how-"

"They saved themselves." He replied, turning his golden eyes to her. "The desire to survive is a powerful tool, don't you think?... Were that we all could wield it in such a way."

"What?"

Aldritch blinked, realizing he'd spoken his thoughts out loud.

"Nothing. Just the ramblings of an old man."

"Are you alright?"

Aldritch nodded and smiled at her, his eyes seemingly regaining focus as they locked onto hers.

"I am now."

Sulika quickly averted her eyes, choosing to look anywhere but directly at Aldritch.

Had… Had he just flirted with her?

Surely not, right?

Peeking through her hair at the big man. Sulika was a bit disappointed to see he'd stopped paying attention to her and was looking off into the distance again.

She turned her eyes back to the path- She flinched as her eyes caught Faeyra's, who had a knowing grin on her face.

"What're you smiling about?" Sulika asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing, Dear. Nothing at all." Faeyra laughed.

---------------------------------------------

They arrived at the base of one of the passages and Oladi stopped the group.

"Hey, look at this." She said, guiding their attention to the site of a fallen tree some thirty feet away.

While it was still alive, the tree would've been a sight to behold; easily a hundred feet tall, with a unique bark pattern that resembled the scales of a reptile and a trunk that was nearly seven feet thick.

It tore the ground asunder when it fell, pulling a vast pile of dirt and small rocks from the ground with it. Yet it wasn't the roots Oladi was showing them. No, she'd seen something else buried beneath the trunk and was attempting to pull it out-

"Need a hand?" Aldritch asked as he approached her from behind. Looking down, he noticed what caught her attention and nodded in understanding.

"Sure, could you help me roll it- Or… Not?" Oladi stopped talking as she watched Aldritch shove a single hand beneath the trunk and lifted one end off the ground.

The interwoven bark was resistant to axes, blades, and most forms of physical impact. However, due to the way the bark grew, it was actually quite fragile if bent from the inside.

As soon as Aldritch lifted the trunk off the ground, gravity caused it to bend- snapping off large chunks of bark and splinters of wood that fell upon the ground.

He brought the trunk to rest on his shoulder while watching Oladi, who was staring at him with an odd look in her eyes.

The rest of the group approached then- looking between Aldritch, Oladi, and the tree, Sulika understood the problem and couldn't help but sigh.

She bent down to inspect what had captured the druid's attention in the first place- A wide wooden sign was half buried in the dirt and muck.

There was a phrase carved into the surface of the sign, but years of mold, water damage, and termites had rendered all but half of one word illegible.

"You got it?" Sulika asked while staring at the trunk.

"Of course. It's not going anywhere." He replied. He wrapped his arm around it to keep it from rolling and left his free hand dangling at his side, so it didn't block his view of the sign.

Sulika nodded and crouched beneath the log to get a better look at the sign. "Hey, Max? Know of any towns with 'A.v.a' as the first three letters and 'e.s.i' as the last three? Looks to be about eight or nine letters total." Sulika asked while looking at the sign and tracing the letters with her fingertips.

"None that springs to mind." Max admitted. He stared down at the sign and wracked his brain for any hint or clue that would lead him down the right direction… But he had nothing.

"Damn." Sulika sighed. "Anyone else?" She asked, looking around at everyone's faces.

Most looked just as clueless as she felt, but not Oladi. The druid looked thoughtful, or maybe confused was the more accurate term?

"Oladi? Do you know something?" Sulika asked her friend.

Her words prompted everyone to look to the druid for answers.

"Zarud and I had an escort job about six years back. We guided a group of frontiersmen to a rogue island they'd found using scrying magic. I'm not great with names, and Zarud could probably correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they were planning to name their town 'A'vantaesi'." Oladi explained; the confusion was gradually draining from her face, only to be replaced by an expression of sickness and sorrow…

"Now that you mention it, yeah, I do remember something like that." Zarud replied, nodding. "There was this hot elf lady leading the group. Said she wanted to name it after her grandmother."

"Is A'vantaesi an elvish name?" Aldritch asked. He knew some of the elvish tongue, but he wouldn't claim to be an expert on the language…

Besides, most of what he knew was learned on the battlefield. So, while he knew a fair amount of elvish battle lingo, curses, and commands. Casual language was a bit beyond his understanding.

Ralocan shook his head. "Not exactly. I don't think there's a direct translation, but the closest I can think of is 'Taesi's Rest'. Taesi being the subject and A'van being the common spelling of the word 'home'."

"Are you a language enthusiast?" Aldritch asked.

"Gods no. I hated school." He laughed. "But my sister is a language professor at L'Obélisque D'Aknobaris. Every time I go home it's like I've volunteered for a week's worth of lectures. Love her, but she has a serious issue with silence."

"My grandmother is the same way." Faeyra said, smiling fondly at a memory. "She's been a tribal elder for as long as I can remember. And believe me, the woman loves the sound of her own voice."

"That she does." Sulika laughed.

"Is she an alchemist too?" Aldritch asked. He wondered what Faeyra and Sulika's home life was like.

He knew they'd lived together with Faeyra's grandmother prior to coming to Azuris. But he didn't know anything else about the woman who raised them.

Faeyra smiled ruefully at the thought and shook her head. "My grandmother hates alchemy."

Sulika saw the expression on her face and gently patted her on the back. Faeyra sent her a grateful smile in return and nodded that she was okay.

Max bent down and pulled the sign out from under the tree trunk. "As fun as this conversation has been, we need to get a move on. We've burned enough daylight as it is." He said and pointed towards the sun in the sky- It was already after noon.

Everyone jumped in surprise as Aldritch allowed the trunk to roll off his shoulder and slam against the ground. "Alright then." He said while wiping some debris off his shoulder. "We're heading to the city, yes?"

"That's the idea." Sulika agreed. "Any idea how much further it is?"

"About six miles." Oladi said before pointing towards the sky- the Raven appeared out of nowhere and landed on her outstretched arm. "But from here on out the terrain is going to change. Above that cliff is where the wildfires burned: five and a half miles of burning wasteland."

"You said six miles to the city, right? What's between the jungle and the city?" Sulika asked while looking at the top of the cliff. She could definitely see the smoke rising into the sky. Luckily the fire had already died out before they got to the island.

"It… Well, it looked like a large demon's camp."

Sulika, Faeyra, Zarud, Ralocan, and Max turned to stare at Oladi.

"Oh, how fun. I guess the reinforcements finally arrived."

And then it was Aldritch's turn to be stared at.