Life has never been fair.
It is not anyone's fault, really. However, there are always a couple of elements who make it their life's purpose to screw up other people's lives. This could have been caused by grudges, or just plain jealousy. However, currently, no one in Harazade could say who they had offended in order to be punished in this manner.
Black smoke and dust rose into the star-studded sky. A better part of Harazade had been obliterated. The soldiers started evacuating the civilians when they realized that the city was under attack. They started by evacuating the rich people first, who were in neatly decorated with gold and diamonds. And then they started evacuating everyone else.
If there was one thing they learnt, however, it was that their foe was indestructible. No matter what type of magic they used, it didn't help much. The only thing they succeeded in doing was to distract it while the evacuation process was going on.
Reeve stood at the edge of the forest, watching the golden rays rise up in the sky. It had been an eventful night. Everything had started with an investigation, and had ended with partial destruction of a city.
"Alvis is looking for you", Soren spoke.
"Has she regained consciousness?"
"No, she hasn't", Soren replied, his expression a little bland.
Reeve sighed. This was not good news. "What was that thing anyway?" he murmured, as he looked at the smoke and dust rising up from the city. It appeared as if the creature had stopped its attack. However, where had it come from? How come there was no warning whatsoever?
No one could go back to check on Eskaria. After they had been evacuated from the city, the first thing they had done was to look for Alvis and his wife. Somehow, they managed to find each other, and no one was hurt … apart from Rizaneth of course, who had been hurt by something else entirely. Now, she was in a coma.
As Reeve was thinking, a voice came up behind them, "Good morning."
Both of them turned to see the source of the voice. It turned out to be a middle-aged man, wearing what looked like an animal fur coat.
"Good morning, how can we help you?" asked Reeve, somewhat politely. Right now, there was nothing good about the morning!
The middle-aged man chuckled, and as if reading Reeve's thoughts, he said, "I know, it's not exactly a good time for anyone. However, there are people who want to talk to the both of you … eh … and bring the two girls with you."
"Who might you be? And where are we going?" Soren was suspicious. Imagine some stranger coming and saying some nameless person wanted to talk to you. Based on what had happened with Rizaneth's kidnapping, it didn't seem like a good idea to go off with strangers. And no, Reeve couldn't really be counted on as a protector.
"Right, where are my manners. My name is Frist, and I come from the floating islands, which will be our destination shortly. Our chief wants to have a word with you, if you don't mind."
"And if we do mind?"
"Eh … Of course, if you prefer to let the world be destroyed while you watch … there's no problem", Frist chuckled.
Reeve and Soren frowned, before they turned to look at each other. "What do you mean 'let the world be destroyed'?" Reeve was the one who asked.
"You saw that thing that attacked the city, correct? It will attack more places, killing more people… I know, you must be asking what that has to do with you. That's what our chief wants to explain. So, what do you say?"
If this didn't seem suspicious, Reeve didn't know what else could count as so. After five seconds of deliberation, they begrudgingly agreed to go with the man. Of course, they had to convince Eskaria, who was overly suspicious, as well as explaining to Alvis and Miranda where they were going. Alvis wanted to ask more questions, but Miranda stopped him.
Therefore, bidding each other farewell, Reeve and crew followed the suspicious man towards the end of the forest. Waiting for them, was a giant bird. It looked like a huge condor, with a massive wingspan! Five people could ride on it, leaving space for a few more!!
After climbing the giant bird, they set off on their new journey. Reeve was not as thrilled about this. However, he had questions, and he hoped the so-called chief would be able to answer them.
Just after Reeve and crew left, three hooded figures arrived at the edge of the forest, a distance from where they had taken off. From this place, one could see Harazade in the distance … rather, what was left of it.
"Your majesty, it seems as if someone already flipped the city upside down before we did", spoke one of the hooded figures, its voice raspy.
"How many times do I have to tell you, stop calling me that", the hooded figure who was being addressed, took off his hood, revealing long black hair. "I'm no longer a king, remember?"
Silence ensued for a full five minutes.
"From what we know so far, inside that city, there is supposed to be a foundation stone!! Unless that old lady lied to me, which I doubt… Now, since the city is now in ruins, it'll be much more difficult to make the search ourselves. So, here's what we will do instead. We will visit the crypt and retrieve the Void stone! As for the other two, they should be returning from the Southern Earth tribes."
This man was Pectus Volo. Former king of Vyren. Currently, however, he was a man on a mission. What mission? Oh, simple. He wanted to collect all the seven foundation stones.
"Lord Pectus, we already have the Wind, Fire and Water stones. Once we get the Void stone, it might be possible to locate the other three", this time, a feminine voice spoke.
"I know, Myne. However, even without the fourth stone, we can still locate the other ones. We would need to get the compass from the old man who lives in the floating islands. This could prove to be troublesome!" Pectus sighed.