"Great! We are heading there soon so we can look for it"
Jazz had a bad feeling about the second piece of his entertainer set, Balthazar had tricked him once and he had a feeling that the price of the second piece was going to be costly.
"Is so good to see you back Rahz, let's go to your old place then you can tell me all about your time outside Helgahvall" said Bhirl enthusiastically.
Bhirl fitted right in with the group and they spent hours talking about this and that and as luck would have it, Bhirl had taken Blaire as his wife and now they had a three year old son.
Rahz struggled with the decision of telling Bhirl about the damage the God's were doing to the realm but after serious consideration he opted to show Bhirl the Elysian way of using Energy. Rahz was not sure if he would be able to teach the little guy about the Elysian way due to the vast amount of things he need it to do but most importantly it took a lot longer to learn and put into practice and that could affect his position in the village.
The belief system of the Gods was deeply rooted in all levels of society and it had taken the Gods thousands of years to create it, if Rahz wanted to change it, He needed to do it little by little and unfortunately his influence was extremely small in that alienated part of the realm.
Bhirl was extremely intrigued about the way Rahz used energy without having a Rune of Awakening but he was even more curious as to why would he choose to forsake his believes; however, He didn't pry any further.
"I have created a school in the Abyss where I teach kids my way of using the energy of the realm, once they learn a skill it will be perform at a master level. I would like little Brynjar to learn my way and become a true Elysian but once he is branded as a follower of the Gods he won't be able to, the decision is yours Brother".
The atmosphere got awkward but Jazz quickly jumped in with another story about their adventures and the war of the tempering and they all were amazing, despite the fact that Jazz hated his class, he was a natural storyteller. Bhirl's Barbarian blood boiled with every heaven defying fight and thought about quitting his position as chief and joining the team but he quickly calmed down and thought about the fate of the many villages he carried on his shoulders.
Bhirl sighed and moved the conversation in another direction.
"Don't take the attitude of the Atlantus tribe personally, they might seem a little greedy but the corpses of those high level creatures should allow them to increase their levels and to you is probably worthless"
"Is no problem… we came to bury Midori and taking care off a few beast along the way won't take long, who knows maybe we will have unexpected gains". Said Rahz while looking at Jazz.
"That is a relieve, why don't you relax for now and I will put together a feast, I am sure my father and elder bear will be happy to see you".
"Good!"
The next few days were spent in leisure and the generation that grew with Rahz came over one by one to reminisce about old times and after very little effort they got him into the arena for a demonstration to the youths of the village. The Barbarian warriors were proud of their achievements since the war against the Frostwolf Clan and thought they could show Rahz that leaving Helgahvall was the wrong decision but even when Rahz was trying hard to help them looked good, his physical progress caused them many injuries.
On the last day before their departure to the North Sea, the team went to the birth place of Midori to bury her remains. The moment they arrived all the wonderful memories came rushing back to Elune and she wept. Rahz hugged her in silence while Remulos control the Earth to open a space big enough to accommodate the head of 25 feet Basilisk.
The Head of Midori was actually encased in anti magic container that they manage to acquire in Naas thanks to the wisdom of the old Witch Doctor. Not only would the toxicity of the basilisk remained for a long time and could corrode the earth and plans around the burial site but its petrification magic took a long time to completely dissipated and making her a very lethal weapon even in death and the team wanted their friend to rest in peace.
While Elune lowered the head of Midori into its final resting place, a sad poem could be heard throughout the forest:
Farewell, my friend
Farewell, my friend
You are not gone, you are the wind that blows
You are not gone, you are the diamond glint on snow
You are not gone, your soul remains forever more.
Your journey has just begun
One by one the team gave Midori on last goodbye before they went back to the village to rest before their trip North. The new chapter in the lives of the members of the Demon Squad was just beginning and the road they had to walk was long and thorny.
Rahz walked the streets of Helgahvall observing the simple but fulfilling life of its people and wondered if it would have been better to stay. The more he knew about the world, the more frantic his life became and he found himself doubting his decision to seek power.
Elune saw the expression in Rahz's face and said "They can live a simple life because of the strong Warriors defending the borders of the Shattering Scar. I rather be one of the strong and take my destiny into my own hands"
Rahz's body shook, the invasion of the Dragonkin was bound to happen regardless of the alienation of the Village and their peaceful disposition, if they didn't have strong people to take on the Dragonkin challenge then everything was lost.
The trip to the village renewed Rahz conviction that the Realm was worth protecting and that despite their differences, even the followers of the God of Justice were Elysians that would stand against the enemies to their way of life.
The next day, the team move fast towards the Atlantus village and Rahz felt as light as a feather, there was a weight that have been lifted from his soul.
The cold wind smash against their face and the screams of the Manatee looking elder echoed through the air and moved farther and farther away. It was the first time the Elder had traveled with movement enhancements like the Spirit of the Wolf and Accelerando and he could barely see the road.
"Stop… Stop … BARF"
Jazz jumped sideways extremely fast and avoided a half decompose fish that came flying out of the mouth of the elder.
"Dude my mouth was open and everything, that was close"
"So..sorry..BARF"
HA HA HA
Riddick laughed while the ground tremble with his every step making it harder for the elder to keep his lunch.
"How much longer we need to go?"
"BARF… Af..After the mountain"
There were 2 ways one could take to reach the North Sea, the first one was the easiest and safest but it was also the longest. The Easiest Road required the team to go around the mountain range and passed through the Frostwolf Clan that was about a week away from Helgahvall and into the open frozen beaches.
The second was through the crystal spider cave that went through the mountains and into the back side of the Atlantus village that had been push out of their beach side homes and into the mainland by giant waves. It was very easy to guess the road the team decided to use and thanks to Rahz's chaos fire they were able to see the road inside the cave system while many of the local beast got trample under their feet.
The team made through without much inconvenience and when they finally came out, they were standing at the top of a giant cliff that faced a white piece of land. In the horizon they were able to see the night sky filled with many greens, blues and even purple colors it was a beautiful Aurora Boreal.
"The Village is Right at the bottom of this cliff, it was the only way for us to avoid the giant Tsunami waves produced by the new Sea Creatures, Sir"
The attitude of the Elder had done a 180 and now only respect was left in his wobbly body.