[h2]The First Parade - 2[/h2]
[h3]Featuring: Susa, Lakshmi and Chroma[/h3]

[hider=Summary]
The group leaves Fibeslay and goes to Barbahar.
In the village, they make a little, poorly prepared play.
In the night, Salassar goes around making odd markings at walls.
And Chroma shares her odd worldview with Susa, who is legitimately spooked.
[/hider]

Fibeslay was very close to a rather large lake, usually, when one traveled to the nearby village of Barbahar, they simply crossed the lake in a boat. However, for the group of wanderers, there was no hain made boat large enough to do the deed.

[i]"I believe that if each one of us took a boat, we would be able to do it, but that would also mean separating our group, which I believe to be a terrible idea."[/i]

But at this point, there were no needs for excuses. The scenery of the region was lovely at early dawn, and the fresh air and humid plants made the additional travel length far more revigorating than tiring for Susa and Lakshmi. For Chroma, however, the stillness and silence of the dim lit morning felt unsettling, but she also did not voice a complaint, as adapting to odd ambiances was part of what one would expect of her as a hero.

[color=6A5ACD]"W-where are we-e go-going aga-again? Bar-B-Barbahar? I do-o not re-remember that to-town in our iti-itinerary."[/color]

[i]"It was not. But the chieftain of Fibeslay convinced me to visit it"[/i]

[color=ffa04f]"That is the land of the clan that used to be called Birbhair right? I remember them being okay folk."[/color]

[i]"I do not even know if they are a clan anymore. The old chief died and since then the tribe has moved deeper inland. It is a bit tricky to reach them, but there is no need to worry with a team like ours."[/i]

They eventually stopped following the shores of the lake and walked the path that most hain travelers picked. The well-defined tracks formed back when the clan lived close to the others still existed, but once they reached site of the former settlement, things became more complicated.

Heavy vegetation and mountains were always troubled for travelers, even the experienced ones, in the path to Barbahar, both were combined into a zone of hills and jungle. The chieftain of Fibeslay knew the path quite well and he had explained it all to Salassar, but even the Quara with his notable memory was apprehensive.

In his worry, he decided to camp on the purlieu of the forest instead of moving on trough it. He didn't need nighttime making things harder.

[color=ffa04f]"Oh is gecko boy scared of a bit of vegetation?"[/color]

[i]"Be reasonable Susa. I do not know exactly how long it will take to cross this. Would you like to stay in an unknown jungle at nighttime?"[/i]

[color=ffa04f]"Been there, done that. But I guess that for a big girl like Lakshmi or for a little ... girl ... like Chroma, it would be a problem. And that is just counting the people that would survive, unlike a certain flamboyant lizard."[/color]

[i]"Heh..."[/i] Salassar wasn't so annoyed anymore by Susa's act, especially considering everything he knew would happen. 

Later at night, once proper shelter was arranged and a campfire built, Salassar finally decided to properly talk about why the little trip to Barbahar was arranged.

[i]"See... while talking to our friend from Fibeslay, I decided to help him with a project. Well, in truth, I helped to brew the project into being, but nevertheless, it is a little mission for Fibeslay. A way to pay for their hospitality, even."[/i] Technically everything was paid with the gifts, but things would work better if everyone felt guilty.

[color=6A5ACD]"An-and wh-what is the proje-ject?"[/color] Lakshmi didn't like the sound of that, they would be way further into their journey without this odd detour.

[i]"See, The Fiberslayer clan was founded when a hain chiefess expelled a fiberling from her village. In Fibeslay, they have a festival for the event that happens every season-cycle where they reenact the event. The idea here is the same, but on a small scale. I have even brought masks and outfits."[/i]

With this, he brought out the two costumes for the play. One was a brown, all-covering dress and a wooden hain-mask. The other were two cyan colored pieces made of linen and a "wig" in the same color. 

[i]"I was thinking of Chroma being the hero and Susa the fiberling."[/i]

[color=ffbfee]"The hero? Yes! I..."[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"No."[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"Whaaat. What do you mean? No? You mean yes."[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"I have been through enough of all this woolgathering."[/color]

[i]"A true shame. Since Lakshmi can't act, I guess we will just have to cancel the acting part."[/i] Salassar knew the topic was not dying at that.

[color=ffbfee]"No no no. You have to do it."[/color] As expected, Chroma was ardent about the chance of playing the role of a hero. [color=ffbfee]"If you do, I will protect you from flying bugs, I promise."[/color]

Susa immediately flushed, she retorted. 

[color=ffa04f]"Why do you think I am afraid of insects. I am not!"[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"Well, I had a dream, you were there, and you were afraid of that kind of thing. Even of a butterfly."[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"A butterfly? I don't remember ever... unless..."[/color]

[color=6A5ACD]"Ah, the ba-battle. The fa-faeries are-re li-like bu-butterfli-flies and-d I d-do remem-member we ha-having to d-dod-dge some of the mis-misali-ligned ones"[/color]

[i]"But why would Chroma dream of the battle you and Susa participated?"[/i]

[color=6A5ACD]"O-oh... I j-just assumed-d t-that i-it w-would b-be po-possible. I do-o not k-know..."[/color]

[i]"Not impossible. But to just see a memory of someone like this, it needs a lot of training, even then, a lot of coincidence would need to happen, especially because..."[/i]

[color=ffa04f]"Enough. I do not want to hear another long rant about dreamland. I will join the thing, just don't pester me anymore"[/color] Susa was no longer reddened, instead, she looked serious, and her tone was different from the one used in typical badinage.

Well, Salassar got what he wanted, that was for sure, but somehow he didn't feel satisfied.  He felt like he was missing something, not merely the piece of a puzzle, but the puzzle itself alluded him.

[hr]

[h3]Barbahar[/h3]
[url=http://i.imgur.com/25uDGOi.png]current status of the journey[/url]

A long time ago, the hain lived in fear of a vile monster.
The cyan colored beast was unlike any other fiber devil.
It didn't simply eat the Hain, it enslaved them.
As a fake god, the fiberling demanded food from them, even when so many starved.
It tormented the children, often tangling around their legs and drowning them.
For simple fun, it would hide the eggs of the Hain for a few months.
Not all were afraid of the wicked beast, however. 

With the cue, Chroma, completely hidden under her outfit and mask, jumped into the stage and faced Susa.

[color=ffbfee]"I demand that you stop with these vile actions!"[/color] she proclaimed.

Susa rolled her eyes, as expected, she messed up. She was supposed to just say what she would do, instead, she ended up creating a conversation. What sound does a fiberling even make? Rawr? Should she just wave her fingers menacingly?

[color=ffa04f]"I protected this village before you were even born. Stop being foolish, you spear is misguided."[/color] She could see Sally narrowing his lizard like eyes, but what she did was diplomacy 101. This tribe had a very lazy clan leader, and after he refused to help, they simply got rid of him and formed a little council to do his job. They disliked authority, that much was clear.

[color=ffbfee]"You can not fool me! I have seen your tyrannical acts. You are a repugnant, vile beast!"[/color]

That could be a bit too much, Chroma was far too angry, but she would be justified if she happened to be abruptly attacked. With a sudden step forward the cyan monster "clawed" at the hero. Susa miscalculated her action a bit, however, and ended up actually hitting the heroine into the ground.

She expected a kick or whatever Chroma was capable of doing in retaliation, but actually, the heroine seemed to have other plans.

[color=ffbfee]"You can take me down, but against all of us, you are powerless."[/color] Said Chroma, making a signal for the Hain of the audience to stand up. And they did each one stomping on the ground along with the heroine, as if trying to intimidate the villain.

Susa found that funny, in the end, the possibly Jvanic entity was truly into this heroism thing, even if apparently more for the attention than anything else.

Finally, the play ended with a quick fake fight, and the fiberling being slain. The hain cheered at the sight, Salassar didn't share that feeling.

[color=ffa04f]"Sorry for those changes. They happened before I could notice.[/color]

[i]"It is my fault for not training you two properly. But I guess the overall message is clear. They might think fiberlings talk, but that is no major problem."[/i]

[color=ffbfee]"Did I do good?"[/color]

[i]"Sure, did you get hurt when Susa attacked you?"[/i] He expected the contrary to happen.

[color=ffbfee]"Oh, it was nothing. It also inspired me to call for everyone's help. Did you like that?"[/color]

[i]"I guess it was an interesting interaction."[/i]

[color=ffa04f]"What was the reasoning behind this idea, though?"[/color]

[i]"It was just the chieftain thinking about how to export his festivals. Plus we both agreed it would be funny."[/i]

[color=ffa04f]"I would advise that you stop with these funny things, Sally. Or at least don't invite me to it again."[/color]

[i]"Fine, don't be so caustic. Didn't you like to see that Chroma is truly into heroism? You were the one losing sleep over fear of her being something else, no?"[/i]

[color=ffa04f]"She is something else. And so far she has been good..."[/color] she couldn't mention why the butterfly dream was so odd, however [color=ffa04f]"But enough of this thing. The council promised us a feast right?"[/color]

Now that the play was over they finally had the chance to properly rest at Barbahar. The village was hidden deep in the hills of the region, and unlike the usually fresh coast, here the climate was hot and damp. Along with the typical woodnote, one could also always hear the sound of a water stream, in fact, the village stood between two of those, which would snake around the hills until joining in an actual river near the coast.

It was a very calm place, with far more food than it population could ever consume and hidden from the typical troubles that coastal Mesothalassa had to deal with.

Salassar also noticed the nearby caves, the true reason why he decided to investigate this tribe. Villagers often visited the local grottos to fish or to collect stones. And, of course, they eventually started to draw on the walls.

It was both a culturally interesting place and an important deposit of art resources. It was not yet time to decide what to do with the gems and metals of the hills, but surely it would be an important place for future Grand Parade members.

As night fell, Salassar sneaked out of his hut and walked across the jungle. Across his path, he carved some words in trees and boulders alike, but when he reached a certain grotto, he started to draw far more complex patterns.

[color=ffbfee]"What is this witchery you are doing, Sal?"[/color] Chroma finally decided to ask, after minutes of sneaking after him.

[i]"Ack. It... It is nothing. Just a little memento.[/i]

[color=ffbfee]"Can I draw on the walls too?"[/color]~

[i]"On some other one, in another place. Sorry Chroma, but I need to concentrate"[/i]

The heroine sighed and kicked a nearby pebble. Usually, Salassar was the cool guy, but now even him was getting odd.

But she did follow his instruction, moving away before starting to doodle  on the rocky side of a ridge. Pretty little furry thralls, a few cool machines, Professor Peculiarity is his cosmonaut outfit, the animals from her homeland...

She wondered, about how much of a heroine she would need to be before she was allowed to return to Iridia. The Clashing World was exciting, with all sorts of wicked alien creatures, but she was starting to miss her home, her family.

Suddenly the sound of someone moving across the jungle caught her attention, and again she started to sneak around to investigate it. Apparently, Susa decided to go for a nightly stroll too. 

But unlike Salassar, the huntress actually started to climb trees and jump over rocks. It was an actual effort to keep up with her, especially silently. Finally, they were at the top of a very tall outcrop that stood atop of one of the hills.

 [color=ffbfee]"Whoa, you can see Fibeslay from here"[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"Oh, it's you. Following me, huh?"[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"Sorry. I just got curious...[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"About where I was going?[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"Nah, about why you are still wearing the cyan loincloth from the play"[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"Eh, I just didn't want to dress the other outfit again."[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"Speaking of which, why did you look so distant when you saw it?"[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"It is none of your concern. I mean, you are not telling me everything you know either, are you?"[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"Uh..."[/color] she stared at the huntress for a short while, before taking a heavy breath. [color=ffbfee]"I come from another world."[/color]

Susa raised her eyebrow. [color=ffa04f]"Wait are you serious?"[/color]

Chroma nodded. [color=ffbfee]"Yes, one day a mysterious woman showed up and brought me to this place. I was afraid of saying it, because I thought you all would be scared"[/color]

[color=ffa04f]"Oh, rest assured that if people were scared of you, it was not because of the backstory. But really..."[/color] Susa was puzzled by this reveal, especially because of one detail.

[color=ffa04f]"In human legends, we were also taken to this land by a mysterious woman. When I asked around Alefpriel, they said that indeed we were not from this planet."[/color]

[color=ffbfee]"I knew it, I knew I was not the only one. This Clashing World, we are brought here for a reason. I bet all the people here were kidnapped from their own world."[/color]

Susa closed her eyes, pondering about the topic for a while. [color=ffa04f]"That could very well be the case... This... This is odd. I mean, damn."[/color]