"Here we are, kid! They call her Val'arcen, well as you can see around, she got lots of 'em interesting structures around." Birke spoke, as the two of them walked out of the space dock in another planet. Looking around, Shinku noticed that most of the buildings were built on huge trees, giving the place an interesting fusion of organic and man made creations. The view of huge airships, flying along with several live creatures dominated the skies above.
"And of course before I let ye' off by yerself, I'd have to give ye' back yer' stuff." The old man continued, urging Shinku to follow suit, which the young man gladly did.
Fascinated with another fresh view, Shinku couldn't help but be enthralled by the diversity he saw around him. Just as he thought that Octavion had shown him the best view he could ever see in his entire life, he suddenly found himself in a dreamy wonderland, far beyond words that he could spell.
"A'right, here we go to gather yer stuff." Shinku followed as the old man entered a huge concrete building having a rough, faded exterior. This one showed a rather old design, much like the town hall back at their clan, only having a more massive size.
"How may I help you sir?" A staff standing just by the door greeted the old man as he stepped into the building.
"Am here to collect my package." Birke smiled, politely responding to the man's greeting.
"Ok here's your number sir. You may sit there as you wait for your turn to be called." The staff pointed to a lobby area, neatly lined by wooden chairs. Giving the staff another smile of agreement, the old man walked towards the waiting area, with the young man following after him.
"Well there's an auction right in this city where I get that ring from, but you need some special access to be able to be granted entry to it. Well, as I've told you, connections are very important, especially for you who are trying to find an elusive lot." The old man lectured as they sat among the other people currently waiting in the room.
"I'm pretty confident ye'd be able to get by but heed me words kid, doncha force yerself to find them just yet. Spend time to gain power and when the right time comes, ye'd be ready to face them. As the old saying goes, don't throw yerself into fire yet, until ye learn to resist its flames." Shinku listened intently, as the old man granted him some advice. After waiting for a while, their turn finally came, with the old man walking towards one of the windows that lined just in front of the waiting room. Shinku on the other hand, remained seated as his companion advised him to.
It wasn't that long when the old man returned, carrying a medium sized crate with him. "Here ye' go kid, we got all yer stuff in there. And don't worry, this place wouldn't really mind yer' sword in there so ye' are free to place that on yer waist. I've made a scabbard especially fer yer sword so bringing that would be a breeze. And well, good luck on yer' journey. And one last thing, I left some coins in there, get yerself some place to rest first before ye start with yer hunt" With that, the old man quickly left waving his last farewell at the young man. Shinku waved back seeing his companion as he walked out of the building and then disappeared from his sight.
Filled with excitement, Shinku decided to open the crate, finally seeing his belongings after quite a long time. His sword particularly caught his eyes with fascination. It was placed in a leather scabbard with some runic symbols carved on to it. His sword felt lighter than before, even with the scabbard. Not wasting a second, he quickly pulled his sword, confident enough to display it in public as per the old man's assurance. The black blade had been thoroughly polished and sharpened compared to what it was before. Simply holding it excited Shinku, as he felt a strange power that emanated from its very blade.
Placing his sword back on its scabbard, he decided to strap it on his body, with the sword hanging on his back. He rummaged through the rest of his stuff in the crate, making sure that all his things were accounted for. Satisfied, Shinku decided to close the crate, and carried it along as he left the old building.
Shinku marveled at the uniqueness of the city's streets with its huge diversity of strange creatures and machines. The scene of what looked like huge metal armors, being ridden and operated like cars, side by side with over-sized centipedes, being mounted on like the usual horses back at Kravien, amused the young man who couldn't help but be dumbfounded by the city's eccentric ambience. Shinku's eyes wandered around, enthralled by both strange creatures and machines that met his sight for the first time.
Had he not noticed the signage of an inn along his path, Shinku would have gone maundering around the city for the day. Suddenly recalling the old man's advice to search for a place to temporarily settle down, he decided to enter a huge concrete building, beautifully decorated with ornamental vines, all creeping around it.
"I would like to rent a room please." Shinku politely approached a woman, standing behind a wooden desk that served as the Inn's counter. Before the innkeeper could respond to him though, another guest, which looked like more like an overgrown rat, suddenly cut him off.
The rodent blinked and looked up at the innkeeper "Hey, me and my friend need a room for two? Can you offer?"
Shinku, being polite as he was, stepped aside after the strange creature barged in, similarly asking for a room. He decided to give way, not wanting to cause any scene in the foreign city. Also, the creature amused the boy as it spoke in a rather tactless manner. Other than looking like a 2 feet rodent with orange fur and pinkish underbelly, the fact that the creature spoke intelligibly like a human surprised the boy.
Beside the creature was another person, standing a few feet taller than Shinku. The rodent-like creature's companions showed a more humanly appearance except for his long pointed ears, and nails that almost resembled a claw. The rodent's companion sighed "Hey, wait, Apex!"
Apex, the rodent like creature blinked "Hey, Slark, just in time!"
The Innkeeper stared between Shinku, the rodent-like creature and its companion. "So you three are looking for a room togeth-
Apex shook his hands "No no.. Just me and Slark here."
The innkeeper sweat dropped "OH! You mean Slark as in THE Slark from Staten's Island in the Finales?"
Slark sighed "Yeah, it's me. How much does it cost?"
"Hmm, let's see a room for two, that comes out to 100 each for a room."
Apex grumbled "What! That's a rip-off!"
The innkeeper shrugged "Celebrities don't get a discount. Take it or leave it you two."
Apex groaned, taking a bit of gold from the bag. "Fine, take it. 200, one room for me and Slark please."
The innkeeper sighed and nodded "Two keycards for you and your fuzzy pal here, enjoy your visit at Suvaro Inn."
As the deal went between the rodent and the innkeeper, Shinku's attention was caught by a screen that hang on a wall behind the counter. The screen showed an advertisement of a certain necklace being promoted by an actor. As if having the necklace zoomed before his eyes, Shinku saw the symbol of their clan engraved right at the center of its pendant. The young man watched intently, drawn by the familiar artifact that once belonged to his village. It didn't take him that long to realize that the actor on the advertisement looked exactly as the companion of the guest that cut him off.
The man did seem like a famous guy on this planet, emphasized by how the innkeeper reacted upon learning his name. Shinku couldn't help but to stare back and forth between the screen and the man who showed exact resemblance with the one on the advertisement that held the necklace. He looked intently, knowing that this man held another clue that might be related to his friends and relatives' murderers.
The rodent-like creature turned, noticing Shinku staring back and forth between the television on the wall and his companion. He then nudged his long-eared companion and whispered" Uh, Slark.. you have a uh.. fan!"
Slark turned to eye the stranger who kept checking him "Uh, can I help you?!"
Shinku was too focused on another artifact, appearing before his eyes, that he failed to notice his own ostentatious act. It was when the long-eared warrior spoke to him, did the young man realize that he was starting to attract some unwanted attention. He flinched, facing the warrior as, trying to compose himself up.
"Oh I uh…" Shinku faltered, trying to come up with an excuse for his action. He isn't a skilled conversationalist but the last thing he wants at the moment, is to cause a scene inside the inn. Fortunately enough, the rodent spoke in his stead. The little guy must have noticed Shinku's stare at the advertisement on the screen that concluded the latter's interest in the necklace.
The rodent then moved toward the innkeeper, taking the two keycards and sliding them away. "He's looking at something you are promoting, Slark.."
"Ah yes of course the necklace." Shinku nodded, when the long-eared warrior faced the screen behind the inn's counter where an advertisement of the latter was being played.
Slark raised an eyebrow "Oh? That necklace.. Uh, they just told me I had to do a commercial and talk about it.."
'So he works for them.' Shinku thought, faking a smile after the stranger mentioned being asked to do a commercial for the necklace. He brushed the back of his head, trying to act as normal as he could in front of the strangers that spoke to him.
The rodent pulled the eco warrior to the side "Slark, I think we should go find our room now before he finds us…"
Before Shinku could open his lips for another speech, the orange creature suddenly pulled the warrior seemingly in a hurry. The young man decided to face the innkeeper yet, still observing the strangers at the edge of his vision as the two went on with their private conversation.
If it wasn't obvious that things were more than a little unnerving for the rodent, he nervously looked back. "Come on, Slark…"
Slark looked at his friend, who seemed bit worried like a frightened cat for a second "Why so worried, Apex?" Slark raised an eyebrow at Shinku
Apex grunted "It's because I think.. He's following us."
Slark nodded, looking back and grabbed his stuff and turned going up the stairs with Apex in tow and his other things.
"I would also like to have a room." Shinku smiled at the innkeeper, hoping that the strangers would forget about the previous scene keeping his focus on the woman in front of him.
"Well, that would be a hundred coin for a room." The innkeeper politely smiled back, as she began to press some buttons on some sort of machinery at her desk. Quickly, the young man pulled out the needed coins and handed them over to the lady as he secretly observed the strangers who were then on their way towards the stairs.
"Are you a fan of Slark too?" The young lady leaned forward Shinku and whispered, while pulling out something from the desk below the counter.
"Uhmm.." Shinku faked a smile, confused of what the innkeeper would have meant. He suddenly realized that the innkeeper did call the long eared warrior earlier as Slark, adding something about Staten's Island. "...Oh yeah of course Slark. I'm really a big fan of him." He exclaimed, smiling awkwardly as the innkeeper slid a card across the desk.
"I can tell." The woman giggled, speaking in a low voice, then placed the card near Shinku. "I can't blame you. He is really famous around here after placing 5th on Staten's. And boy, isn't he good looking." The woman continued, suddenly lost in thought as she spoke about Slark. "Well perhaps you'd want me to give you the room next to those two. But of course I'll have to ask you for an extra." The woman grinned, pulling the card back close to her.
"So how much would that cost?" Shinku whispered, looking around if the duo was still nearby.
"Well, let's see, maybe another hundred coins would be enough." The woman responded, smiling slyly at her seemingly defenseless customer.
"Uhmmm...alright I think I still have some over here." Shinku reached for the wooden crate beside his feet, recalling the coins that the old man provided him. He got the additional coins, and placed it over the desk.
"Well then, here's your card. Enjoy your visit at Suvaro Inn!" The woman then greeted cheerfully, with Shinku grabbing the card that the young woman finally slid back towards him and tried to keep up his awkward smile.
Placing the card inside his pocket, Shinku picked up the wooden crate which he previously placed on the floor just in front of the counter. Instead of making his way towards the stairs however, Shinku decided to walk towards the hotel's lounge, lowering the crate again on the floor and then took a seat. He opened the crate, then pretended to be looking for something yet, what he actually did was to put himself in a deep trance, allowing him to monitor any movement of all sentient beings around him.
Having his head bowed, Shinku's disheveled hair had covered a portion of his face including his eyes who were actually closed. The young man kept his concentration, then tried to locate the signature of Slark and his companion. Having met the duo earlier, he was able to grasp the spiritual signature of his targets, enabling him to track them through his Shadow Art.
'Found you.' Shinku muttered, finally being able to identify the signatures of his targets. He kept on monitoring his targets for a while, noticing how the two went their separate ways. Both seemed to have settled to each of their places but with the other one still moving about, Shinku went on with his observation.
Shinku chose to snap out of his trance, the moment he felt the presence of the woman from the counter, coming near him. "Is everything ok?" Shinku heard the innkeeper's voice before deciding to finally open his eyes.
"Oh yeah I'm all good. I'm just making sure I have everything right here." The young man smiled at the innkeeper, then closed his wooden crate and made his way up the stairs. He carefully walked along the corridor, remembering that the room he was assigned for, was just beside the long-eared human's room. He carefully stepped without making a noise, finally seeing the label of the room that showed the same number of his card. Assuming that the card worked like the old man's shack back at Octavion, Shinku placed the crate down the floor, reached for the room's card and placed it at what looked like a scanner in front of him. The door did open, causing Shinku to quickly grab his crate and enter the room provided for him. He then carefully closed the door, settled his things down and sat on the king sized bed that was placed at the end of the room, just near the curtain.
Satisfied, Shinku went into another trance, tracking his target once again from where he identified them before. Slark's spirit signature was indeed just in the room beside his own, seemingly immobile. Apex on the other hand, was still moving about from a distance. After quite a while Shinku could now notice the creature coming nearer his place. The orange creature did enter the room where Jak was, and finally settled down. Shinku couldn't actually hear whatever they were talking about, but he could discern that both their consciousness were still active. After a while, the smaller creature's consciousness started to drift away along with Shinku's own consciousness who gradually started to fall into slumber.