"Choofa? So that's what these puffball guys are huh?" Jeff said as he stopped to examine these creatures once again. To be fair on Jeff's part these guys really did pose a lot of interest to Jeff as he had never seen things like these before.
"Like is it possible to understand what they are saying?"

"I've lived here for 50 years, but even now I can barely understand these confounded little puffs!" The old man said irritably, walking towards Jeff. One of the puff balls jumped onto the hair-man and grumbled angrily. "I meant nothing by it, little Chufila! haha.." The old man moved close to Jeff and whispered to him, "They understand English, watch your mouth 'round them," he paused and moved his hidden hand out of his hair-like body, handing Jeff a bundle of clothes. "Here are some replacement clothes, whippersnapper."

A pure black t-shirt, and a pair of grey pants was now in Jeff's ownership.

"Oh do they now?" Jeff said as his this sparked his interest in the Chufila even further. Keeping in mind what the old man said about them Jeff turned to the Chufilas and bowed to them. "In that case I thank you all for your swift aid and for your parts in saving me as well."

He then turned back to the old man before stepping behind a tree to change into his clothes. "give me a moment I have a few more questions and all but well.. I rather not be in just boxers so yeah... Thanks for the change and all that."

After changing into the clothes Jeff felt a lot better and a little less down about this whole situation. Jeff was always a fan of black so the shirt suited him just fine. He also decided it was best to leave that bandage on his chest for at least a while longer just to make sure the wound didn't try to reopen or anything.
"Okay there we go" Jeff said reapproaching the man and his new ball friends. "Might I ask exactly just where this is and perhaps if you knew anything about the village of Nino? Can't say I'm expecting much to be left there, but I really do kinda want to go back and check for survivors."
It was rather clear Jeff was very worried about his fellow villagers and felt that it might be in his interest to see if perhaps maybe if any made it out of this mess.

......Plus there was admittedly a tiny part of him that wished to go and recover the schematics for his one and only successful device, the grapple gauntlet. At least if possible.

As Jeff made his way back towards the old man, he nodded happily and extended his free hand up towards the cave's exit. "Choofa Gorge is the dividing crack in the land that separates the north hemisphere, and the south hemisphere of the world. It spans across the entire earthly continent, ending only a few miles before the great ocean," he explained. "The village of Nino? Can't say I've really heard anything about it, lad. This here's a hermit's brain, eh wot!" He tapped his hairy head and chuckled softly. "Based on your trajectory though, I'd say your Nino village is in the north hemisphere! Can't say I know a bloody thing about the world above anymore, though," He paused and blinked a couple times. The Choofa began waving their little magical bodies back and forth happily and humming a quiet tune. "The Choofa seem happy that you ended up here though! They do so enjoy a new guest every now and again... Ah, I'm afraid I didn't catch your name, if you'd mentioned it! My name is Sir fizzle! I go by Fiz, at least, that's what I used to go by back in My righteous city of Dalenport. Now I'm just a humble old whacko, hah-hah!"

"Oh and here I am forgetting to mention my name.. haha.." Jeff said feeling bad about forgetting to introduce himself to the man. "I'm Jeff local inventor of Nino, at least was until that savage ruined everything, I finally had a breakthrough with my device and he comes in and destroys the village, there is a good chance most of them died too" Jeff really could have gone and vented about this for hours upon hours but stops himself for the sake of the old man and the Chufila's. Instead he decided to change the subject.
"Anyways what happened to you to make you end up living out here Mr. Fizz"?

"What happened? Why, I don't really recall! I remember nothing before the age of 20, at all! Its a shame, but I've never looked back or tried to escape the gorge. It's my home, and the magical fruits down here keep me alive and well. I'm rather spry for a 70 year old, eh wot!" Fiz explained, hopping and clicking his feet together. jeff couldn't really see it past all the hair, but Fiz was wearing a set of wooden shoes. "What's more curious, is how you ended up here! Did that savage you mentioned have anything to do with it?"

One of the Choofa approached Fiz and warbled something into his ear as it floated by his head. "Eh? The choofa seem very interested in you, M'boy! Very interested indeed.."

"Yeah that's a crazy story actually." Jeff said thinking back to what exactly went down. "For a few reason actually, well I guess for starters you could say this guy was strong, real strong. Like the kind of strong that can cause earthquakes and poke trees to make them tumble. So yeah, short story short, me and my friend tried to face off against him in hopes to distract him long enough for the villagers to escape. We both at some point the fight were sent flying in different directions, thousands and thousands of feet into the air..."
Jeff said about to finish his story though then remembering the slight fazed out part just a slight bit.
"oh and there was something really weird that happened during it... like the wind just well.. reacted to my emotions during that fight and well.. Helped me for a short while, given yeah that whole part is hazy though and I can't remember much."
Jeff gripped his head for a moment getting a bit of a headache from trying to think about it.

"Pachoofa!" One of the Choofa squealed. "Pachoofa, Pachoofa, Pachoofa!"

"My word! You were attuned to the wind?" Fiz questioned, "That's a rather rare affinity, m'boy! A rather rare one indeed! No wonder the Choofa are so..."

"Ralla oom dalafa!" One of the Choofa cut in, spewing words into Jeff's ear from his shoulder. They were stealthy little bastards. It would be scary if they weren't so damn cute and harmless looking.

"Eh? I think Chufila is asking about the savage's appearance!"

"is that so?" Jeff said as he stopped for a moment to think about what stood out most with this monster of a human being. "Well, he was wearing a yellow shirt, blonde, and more specifically wearing a black mask with glowing yellow eyes."
He then gripped his fist. "He seemed to only care about finding somebody worth fighting and didn't care who he killed and what he destoryed to obtain it. That bastard..."

"CHOOOO!" Chufila bounced up and down and moved over to Fiz, whispering something in his ear. The other Choofa disappeared into hiding places within the grass, terrified by the man's description.

"Ahh.. The masked people.. Yes, the world has become a bit darker in recent years, ever since their arrival. Most don't know of them, and they'd be lucky to never encounter one of those ruffians. None of them wish good things upon the people here!" Fiz explained briefly. "Perhaps you were lucky to fall down here. The Choofa insist that this gorge is safe, even from their treachery.."

"wait so you know about those guys?" Jeff said surprised at this.. Though to be fair somebody that strong who goes around attacking towns is bound to get some fame. "And what do you mean by people? just how many of them is there?!"
The thought made Jeff begin to over exaggerate and imagine hundreds of masked people roaming about destroying everything till nothing was left. Clearly not the best thought.

"KNow about them? How many? I'm not to sure about any of that, m'boy. The Choofa don't know either..." The man turned around and began walking outside of the small cave. "Come, join me on my morning walk. I may as well show you around the gorge if you'll be staying here.."

"Sure" Jeff said nodding in agreement as he began to follow the man. "To be fair, I'm not sure what I should be doing just yet. As cool as this place is, I doubt I'm gonna get anything accomplished here and I am worried about the villagers and Dacer. But is that really the best idea to head back to where the man could be moving around in about. Perhaps it might be an idea to find something or somebody who could help me to learn how to hone my skills, maybe a guild perhaps?"

Jeff knew that he was pretty much just rambling at this point but he couldn't help it. Back when he use to hang out with Dacer, he would usually find himself doing the same thing when trying to consider the next course of action with working with his inventions. Overall it just did good to help him organize his thoughts. "Do you know of any place that might be good for training?"

"A guild?.. Hmm, you'd be hard pressed to find anything like that 'round the gorge, m'boy. The Choofa make sure it's not very habitabal around here, which makes it hard for me to learn anything at all, hoho.. But if you want to hone your skills, I'd say that you should probably consult the grand Chief."

"A chief?" Jeff asked curiously "So there are other humans in the gorge? Or is this a master Choofa?"
At this point Jeff wouldn't be too surprised if it was.

"He's the master Choofa! Of course, he's on the other end of the gorge. There are several Choofa Villages between here and there, and a few hazards as well.."

"Well I guess this places is able to remain secluded for a reason" Jeff said not surprised on the whole concept of hazards existing in such a location. "Though I suppose before I figure out where to head from here that paying a visit to chief Choofa isn't a bad idea."
"But yeah just what kinda of hazards should I be expecting?"

"Oh, the usual. Falling rocks, rogue Choofa, and the occasional Myst Crawler.." Fiz explained briefly. "If you're willing to make the trip, I'm afraid I can't come with you."

"Rogue ones huh? And here I would have thought these guys were all cute and friendly" Jeff said surprised to hear that being one of the threats. Still nonetheless, Jeff felt that he needed to do something, and perhaps this chief could lend hand in him learning how to tap into his wind powers or at least nudge him in the right direction for doing so. And once he figure out how to do that he could start mastering them and perhaps have a chance to avenge his village. Given he knew he was really far away from such a goal with his current strength and that perhaps making some new gauntlets, ones made with more sturdy materials could be of aid as well.
"Anyways, if that's the worse of the worse, then I'm not too worried. Afterall, whats a few rogue Choofa and boulders compared to a giant mask wearing madman?"
With that Jeff held out his hand to shake the man's hand before heading off. "Thanks again for everything sir, I hope we meet again."

Fiz waved Jeff off and let out a hearty chuckle. "It's of no issue to me, m'boy! But be careful! Remember, you can always come visit me and the Choofa if you're in the gorge!"

With Jeff on his way across the chasm, he could feel the oppressive energies bearing down on his soul. What dangers would he face? Where would this road lead him? It would all be answered soon enough.

---