[color=lightgray][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/XefPYjx.png[/img]
[Color=goldenrod][b]Time:[/b][/color] Afternoon
[Color=goldenrod][b]Location:[/b][/color] Ironhold
[Color=goldenrod][b]Interactions:[/b][/color]
[Color=goldenrod][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] Eris [@Tae] 
[hider=Equipment:] [url=i.imgur.com/hkDcd7s.png]Male Outfit[/url]
[url=https://imgur.com/nFFwshr] Backpack (top right)[/url]
Adamantine Quarterstaff
Sling
40 balls 
3 lbs of black powder 
[url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/emerald-isles/images/d/d5/Half-Plate.png/revision/latest?cb=20180506075844]Mithral Half-Plate[/url] with Lighting Enchantment 590
[url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/56/fb/0c/56fb0c36347cd7674c834aea568233e6.png]North Pass Drip[/url]
Zoomies
Teeth Cleanser 
Hair Cleanser 
Hair Softener
Body Cleanser
Armpit Fragrance
Ring of Warmth
3 medium red potions
3 medium blue potions
[/hider][/center][hr]

Kaleb slammed his palms against the wall in front of him. He knew the wall wouldn’t simply open up like a magical door and return him to Eris and the burning wilds of North Pass but it was difficult for him to just leave from the spot he felt planted in. Even as he hung his head in defeat, he remained, hoping and waiting for another rift. [color=goldenrod][i]Fuck…[/i][/color] reality had begun to set in but snapped at it, committing to his denial further.

[color=goldenrod]“Fuck… Fuck! It can’t happen like this! ERIS! ERIS! Why did you do this?!”[/color] Kaleb pounded his fist against the stone wall, this time creating small flames on impact. [color=goldenrod]“Why couldn’t I…”[/color] Kaleb sighed deeply as he buried his face in his hands. He wondered what his four months of training even amounted to if he wasn’t even capable of protecting himself and Eris when it counted. Now, he stood wherever this dark and [i]hot[/i] place he had been sent to, wondering what her fate was. He wiped his hands down from his face, revealing his expression of distraught.

[color=68894D][i]“I will find you again, Kaleb, whether in this life or the next.”[/i][/color]

[color=goldenrod]“Why did she say it like that?”[/color] He could have answered it himself… he just didn’t want to feel the pain that came with that answer. He attempted to shake the thought away but he couldn’t stop hearing her last words to him. He placed his back against the wall and slid down to the alley floor. [color=goldenrod]“She’ll come through any minute now, and then she can tell me what this place is… Yeah, then-”[/color]

[color=sandybrown]“Ye sure enjoy speakin’ ye self, [i]elf[/i]. Perhaps Sun Elf Kingdom sent their worst to us.”[/color] Two black-bearded dwarves strolled through the alley with a hovering cart filled with wooden crates.

[color=tomato]“Typical. Of course, they would send a milk drinker with shiny arm’r.”[/color]

[color=sandybrown]“But brother… aren’t they all just milk drinkers with shiny arm’r?”[/color] The two dwarves burst into gut-wrenching laughter. Kaleb shot the two a look of distaste. Four months ago, he might have exploded both figuratively and [i]magically[/i] (if that makes sense). With what he was going through, he felt he might just do it to find some sort of release to take his anguish out on. 

[color=goldenrod]“And aren’t you all just stubborn height-envy dudes that overcompensate with your facial hair?”[/color] Kaleb dished back as he stood up, knowing his words wouldn’t be well received. It definitely stopped the bout of laughter between the pair. They looked at Kaleb with raised brows. [color=goldenrod]“Before you ask. I didn’t stutter.”[/color] 

[color=Sandybrown]“Oh, we right heard ye, [i]elf[/i]. And what, ye standin’ up to prove your own words?”[/color]

[color=tomato]“Why don’t ye go back to speakin’ to ye self and fussin’ wit that wall eh?”[/color] The dwarf reached for a hammer on his belt. [color=tomato]“Don’t forget where ye are! This be Ironhold, and no one in these walls will miss a milk-drinkin’ elf.”[/color] Kaleb was locking eyes with him before he broke contact to look at his surroundings (which didn’t amount to much due to being in an alley). 

[color=goldenrod]“Did you just say Ironhold?”[/color]

[color=sandybrown]“Yeah he did. And me brother didn’t stu’er either.”[/color]

[color=tomato]“Ye lost?”[/color]

[color=sandybrown]“No, he’s a fool. How could one not know where we are? The greatest city to be built in all of Avalia. Home to the greatest people of Avalia.”[/color]

[color=tomato]“Right. They really did send their worse… Come on brother, I think we might have broken this one.”[/color] The other dwarf shrugged as the two continued on their way

[color=sandybrown]“Guess so. Or maybe he’s be’er now that he quit talkin’. Da always said the less an elf spoke, the be’er.”[/color]

[color=tomato]“Be’er for them or us?”[/color] The two broke into another hearty laugh until they exited the alley, leaving Kaleb staring blankly with his mouth agape. 

[color=goldenrod][i]Ironhold…[/i][/color]

[color=68894D][i]“The portals depend on many upon many factors. Distance, focus, emotional stability, whether or not it’s here in Avalia… The more of those things in effect, the more strenuous the ability is… Oh and the more strenuous, the more unpredictable it can be as well, and then with unpredictability, it makes the strain worse. See, factors upon factors.”[/i][/color]

[color=goldenrod]“No.”[/color] Kaleb quietly denied it, but the memory of her brought on her last words once more.

[color=68894D][i]“I will find you again, Kaleb, whether in this life [b]or the next[/b].”[/i][/color]

[color=goldenrod]“Fuck this!”[/color] He yelled before grabbing his staff from off the ground and storming towards the alley exit with it resting on his shoulder. For a moment, he stopped to look back to where he had appeared through the portal. He was afraid if he left, he’d be abandoning an exhausted or hurt Eris that might come through any moment now. [color=goldenrod][i]But if she can’t even form a rift to here, then she needs help out there.[/i][/color] He balled up his free hand and briefly squeezed before continuing ahead. 

Stepping out into one of the main walkways, Kaleb was graced with the sight of Ironhold’s city. Sure he was serious about trying to find a way out of this place, but he couldn’t help but stop and stare at the intricacies of the city. For one, it was built within a cavern. The city would have been too dark to navigate if it weren’t for the bright molten metal and stone coursing through the city like artistic waterways. It appeared as if the wrong step meant you were a goner and that vegetation was not much of a consideration. A true mining city… A true mining city he was definitely lost in. 

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