[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/aRfAXko.png[/img][/center] [hr] [hider=One hour before departure] [hr] [b]Location: Communal swimming pool[/b] [hr] [color=ec008c]”Cannonbaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!“[/color] Rita yelled as she took a running jump into the giant swimming pool. A deluge of water rained over Yalen’s head, who was treading water nearby. Finding his gills again was a challenging experience for the blonde teen. He hadn’t been in water deeper than his waist for a few months. Things turned out fine though. After stripping down to his underpants and settling in, he found that he was still capable of moving around in the water, albeit with slight difficulty. [color=#FD5E53]“Whoa, nice one!”[/color] Yalen called out. He waded over to the ripple where he saw Rita dive in. Right as he did so, he felt a tiny pair of hands grip his ankles and pull downwards. He instinctively gulped down air before his head sank underwater. In the crystal clear water it was easy to see Rita’s impish grin. The little girl did a raspberry at him before swimming away like a swordfish. She was surprisingly fast! [i][color=#FD5E53]You little rascal![/color][/i] Yalen knew that this meant war. He immediately began pursuing his mischievous companion. The two of them raced under and over the water, never growing more than a couple feet apart. Rita was a stronger swimmer than he was, but she couldn’t overcome the difference in their wingspans. Each stroke he made was twice the length of the little Segonese girl. With some clever feinting and maneuvering, he eventually managed to touch her by the toes. [i][color=#FD5E53]Now you’re going to get it![/color][/i] Yalen started tickling Rita’s feet as she attempted to flee from him yet again. Her kicking became frantic and she immediately went up for air. Yalen followed her up and found her full of giggles as always. [color=ec008c]”That’s cheating mista Yawen!“[/color] Rita started splashing water at him in protest. Yalen couldn’t keep himself from laughing along with her as he shielded his face from the watery onslaught. Remembering a trick that his big sister taught him, he cupped his hands and squirted a jet of water at Rita in retaliation. She joyfully shrieked and swam towards the middle of the pool where more swimmers were gathered. [color=#FD5E53]“You won’t get away that easily!”[/color] Yalen was in hot pursuit. Little did he know he had stumbled into a trap. Seemingly out of nowhere, Rita emerged from the crowd of tethered with two other kids swimming close behind. His eyes widened as they all raised their arms in unison. [color=ec008c]”Get hiiiiim!“[/color] Rita and her friends attacked Yalen relentlessly, forcing him to retreat. Damn, he didn’t expect her to bring allies! [hr] The hour went by so fast. Yalen hadn’t had this much fun in a while. Every day at Ersand’Enise was spent studying and practicing so he could keep up with his peers. This mission from the paradigm had been draining as well, physically and mentally. Though he was more tired than one might want to be before a difficult expedition, the young monk was happier than ever. This break was good for him. After drying himself off and redressing, Yalen met back with Rita who was also about done changing back into her clothes. When she saw him, the rambunctious kid tackled him in the shins and looked up with her big brown eyes. [color=ec008c]”Tanks for playing wif me mista Yawen!“[/color] Rita shouted with glee. Yalen nodded and playfully ruffled her damp hair.[color=#FD5E53]“Yeah. It was a lot of fun. You're a really good swimmer Rita, I could barely keep up!”[/color] [color=ec008c]”I luvta swim! I'm the fassest one in da whole refuge!“ [/color] Yalen's tiny companion made a mock paddling motion with her hands while bragging about her skill. The older of the two nodded along knowingly. He knew firsthand how much kids loved to show off. He bent forward a little more so that he wasn't looking down at her so much. [color=#FD5E53]“I bet you could swim across the entire ocean in no time.”[/color] [color=ec008c]”The oceeeeaaaaaan! I hearda that! Some a' da big kids talk about it!“[/color] At that, Yalen raised an eyebrow. She was strangely mystified by the word 'ocean' despite living in a country bordered by it on all sides. [color=#FD5E53]“Haven't you ever seen the ocean Rita?”[/color] He questioned. Rita shook her head. [color=ec008c]”Nuh uh. Neva been outside. Outside isn't safe. Rita's been here since foweva!“[/color] Yalen's mouth opened and closed like a fish. Before he could respond to his little friend's admission, he heard someone whistle from behind. He turned around to see the Segonese guardswoman from yesterday. Despite the heat, she was still wearing her stuffy uniform. [color=735D7D]"Forgive the interruption Brother Castel. It is time. The others are already at the gate awaiting your arrival."[/color] [/hider] Even with Jocasta shielding the party from the worst of the desert winds, Yalen was still feeling uncomfortably hot. He had long since shed his outer robe and tied it around his camel’s neck. Miatto's natives were no stranger to the occasional heat wave, but those times were spent hiding indoors or dipping one’s feet in the local river. Yalen uncapped his water flask and took a cool drink of water. It was a simple task to draw the heat out of the flask beforehand. The budding arcanist half considered using the so-called lich’s touch on himself out of desperation, but ultimately decided against it. Giving yourself hypothermia was not a great way to beat the heat. Their second encounter with Halassa gave them a bit of a fright, though the guards had things well under control. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like these ones were aberration mad. Yalen had no desire to boil any more brains while he was here. Though the overgrown tortoises were persistent, the ranger Escarra showed an impressive level of restraint. His small act of mercy was an example Yalen wanted to follow. Difficulties continued to hamper the group’s progress. An aggressive rhinodon charged straight through the caravan, and inexperienced as he was Yalen was barely able to get his camel out of the way. Neither the guards nor Zarina found themselves able to calm the beast, but it eventually lost interest in them after smelling the air for something. But what? [color=a36209]"The hoodoos!"[/color] shouted Escarra. [color=a36209]”Now!”[/color] Their ranger took off in a full gallop. Yalen had no idea what the danger was, but he wasn’t going to stop and ask questions when everyone was about to take off without him. He got his camel up to full speed and followed. It became clear soon after that a sand storm was about to engulf them, but the nearby cliff and rocky spires served well enough as shelter. When the storm had passed, it left behind some previously unspotted ruins. The party gratefully took shelter just past the entrance and stopped for lunch. While Yalen tucked into a simple meal of bread and cheese, he was unexpectedly joined by Ayla. The two of them had a pleasant conversation, though some disturbing revelations were made that gave Yalen serious pause for thought. [b][see collaboration with Ti for full conversation][/b] The party was on the move once more. Remounting his camel took a bit of effort on Yalen’s part, and one of the guards had to help him halfway. While passively scanning the desert for possible threats, Yalen’s consciousness touched something he didn’t expect to. He fearfully withdrew his mental probe. It was the aberration. He shared a look with Marceline and Jocasta. There was no way they didn’t sense it too. [color=598527][b]"I can feel it,"[/b][/color] announced the youngest of the trio, moving up closer to the head of the pack. She pointed further down the canyon. [color=598527][b]"Not sure exactly how far."[/b][/color] She glanced back towards Jocasta and the older girl took a moment to catch up. [color=ffdead][b]"About...uh... eight miles away,"[/b][/color] she decided, and Escarra scowled, brow furrowed in momentary thought. [color=a36209][b]"Then we go,"[/b][/color] he announced. [color=a36209][b]"On the return, no dinner."[/b][/color] Suiting words to action, he coaxed some more speed out of his camel, and the group pressed forward. The further the caravan traveled into Eshiran’s Throat, the more froabasses could be seen roosting along the edges of the cliffs. It would be impossible to evade them in the canyon. Yalen kissed his holy necklace and uttered a few words of prayer under his breath. The tethered detected the sand wyrm after a couple hours, and apparently it detected them as well. Escarra barely had time to point everyone towards a rocky outcropping before the sand came alive right behind them. Even after reaching the shelter of the cliff side, the group still found itself threatened by the growing draconic presence in the area. Over a dozen froabasses had descended on their position, drawn by freshly exposed prey. Some of the dragons came dangerously close to the camels and instigated a panic among the animals. Yalen nearly had his neck injured by whiplash when his camel bolted without warning. His feeble attempts to soothe the beast went unanswered and he was eventually tossed off his saddle. After shaking off his dizziness, the fragile cleric realized he was now on open sand and in plain view of the flying predators. He wasn’t the only one either. Practically the entire party had been scattered save for Escarra and Zarina. A massive scaly body landed heavily a few feet away from where Yalen lay, causing a cloud of sand to kick into the air. There was no mercy in the eyes of the starving dragon. He could see saliva dripping out of its jagged maw. With no combat training or experience, the only thing that saved Yalen was his desperate survival instinct. He held out his golden sunset medallion and drew to his full capacity as fast as humanly possible. [color=#FD5E53]“Ahn-Shune, grant me your light!”[/color] Yalen closed his eyes just before the blinding flash erupted from his hand. The froabass shrieked in pain as its optic nerves were temporarily overloaded. It clawed at the sand and thrashed about with its tail, nearly killing Yalen in the process. With all the strength he had he first crawled, then sprinted away, running faster than he ever had in his entire life. His eyes were half-blind with sweat and tears, otherwise he might have gotten a full view of the massacred guards and camels strewn about the sand. Yalen knew what was happening. His nose was sensitive to the smell of blood. He was dearly close to his friends now. Yalen could see the guards and the other students doing whatever they could to repel the dragons. The beasts were beaten back with guns and magic alike, but their numbers appeared limitless. His skin grew hot as a nearby froabass attempted to roast him with a gout of fire. Yalen’s immediate reaction was to erect a crude barrier using Binding, having witnessed Kaspar employing the same strategy before. It was too thin to stop the dragon itself, but the flames spewing from its mouth were repelled. The beast knew its breath attack had failed and swiftly advanced on Yalen, intending to tear him apart directly. The exhausted cleric was taxed for Mana and rapidly running out of ideas. He had no camel to ride, no Kinesis to carry him away from danger. As he numbly faced his own demise, Yalen’s thoughts began to echo with the words of the Traveller. [color=black][i]“Is it really your duty to preserve all life?”[/i][/color] [color=#FD5E53][i]So I now have to choose between my life and that of Oraff’s creations?[/i][/color] Yalen gazed at the approaching froabass dispassionately. There was no choice to be made. He was no hero. His body trembled with fear. Lacking the strength to save himself or his friends, he closed his eyes and waited for the end. He didn’t feel the claws ripping into his flesh. As he stood there with his eyes closed, Yalen experienced something beyond pain, a growing pressure that threatened to tear him apart from the inside. [color=FD5E53][i]It hurts…! What’s happening to me?[/i][/color] It was like having the worst case of indigestion, migraine, and muscle cramps all at the same time. Yalen fell to his knees and dry heaved. With his sixth sense he could tell someone was drawing a massive amount of energy. It was far more than any one of them should have been capable of. Even the sisters with their huge capacities could kill themselves by overdrawing like this! As he collapsed into the sand, Yalen could just barely see Jocasta rising into the air. But his body and Manas were too weak to resist the wave of raw power. He could feel himself blacking out as the froabasses disappeared from sight. He didn’t know how long it took for the pressure to subside, but eventually Yalen’s consciousness returned. One of the others shook him awake and pulled him to his feet. Yalen was eventually able to limp back to the group unaided. Everyone looked to be in bad shape. Not all of them had made it. Whatever Jocasta did, it had left her looking much worse for wear. [color=ffdead][b]"I tried to get the wyrm,"[/b][/color] she rasped, [color=ffdead][b]"but I couldn't. The froabasses are... nine miles from here, with their food. They won't be bothering us anymore."[/b][/color] She blinked a couple of times, clearly woozy, and tried to sit up, but she needed help to do it. [color=ffdead][b]"We need to stop the wyrm. It's headed for the aberration. If it gets there..."[/b][/color] She paused. A dark look had crossed Marceline's face. Kneeling in the sand, she knit and unknit her fingers and shook her head tightly. [color=598527][b]"I cannot sense the aberration anymore,"[/b][/color] she squeaked, looking to Yalen for confirmation. [color=598527][b]"I fear we are too late."[/b][/color] Yalen wasn’t thinking about the wyrm or the aberration right that second. He barely had the energy to stand on his feet and breathe at the same time. A single question popped into his mind as he looked between Jocasta and Marceline, formed from his conversation with Ayla and Jocasta’s most recent show of power. [color=#FD5E53][i]Jocasta… who are you really?[/i][/color] The question was not uttered out loud though. He knew better. Yalen took a deep breath and tried his best to scan the region, reaching out several kilometers in every direction in a vain attempt to get a bead on the aberration’s location. [color=#FD5E53]“Marceline is… right. The worst… has come to… to pass. The sand wyrm is a-aberration mad and… none of us will be safe now.”[/color] Yalen managed to gasp between mouthfuls of air. [hider=TL;DR] - Yalen has a splash fight with Rita and some other kids - He gets a hint that the refuge is kind of a crappy place - Yalen and Ayla have their chat on the way to the aberration's location - The froabasses attack and Yalen nearly dies trying to fight for his life - In light of recent events he has a new opinion of Jocasta, but not necessarily a negative one [/hider]