Kothar's face turned blue, as the mist wrapped tighter and tighter around his throat. Black spots filled his vision and he felt more and more light headed.
"Hrrk. I'm really trying to go back." Kothar struggled to form the words with what little words he had left. The mysterious man narrowed his eyes and the mist wrapped tighter.
"Last chance. Tell me now or you're done for."
"I'm not lying." With the last of his air, Kothar spat out his innocence.
[Guess we're doing this again, see you next time?]
[See you next time Silane.]
The grass tickled Kothar's face, he was slumped against the ground, and he could hear the crackling of a fire. He sat up, finding himself in a makeshift camp. The mysterious man sat on a large stump near the fire.
With the mist swirling around his feet, Kothar got his first good look at him. He looked alien, mostly humanoid, with pale skin and snow white long hair.
"Sorry about that, can't be too careful with you otherworlders." The man strode over, offering Kothar a hand to help him up. Taking his hand, Kothar pulled himself up, still shaky from passing out.
"I'm sure you have many questions, have a seat by the fire." The man revealed pointed teeth as he spoke, which, combined with the way he stalked around the camp, gave him a cat-like appearance.
"Avn' Dur, and I already know you are Kothar."
"Yes, I understand your desire to protect your home but was almost killing me really necessary?"
"You've no idea, this plane gets a ridiculous amount of otherworlders, the last time we had one with poor intentions we lost an entire continent." Avn' Dur poked at the flames with a stick as he explained, staring into the fire.
"I see. How did you know?"
"How did I know? Don't be ridiculous, all of you are exceptionally outstanding in some way, but it's your sword that gave you away." Avn' Dur raised his hand, and a blackbird fluttered down and perched on it.
"My little friend here told me all about it, mages study for their entire lives to come up with one or two new runic arrangements. A mere child creating a network as complex as your sword, absolutely absurd."
"You can't be certain I'm innocent though?"
"Protesting your innocence until certain death is good enough for me. Most of you start making excuses by the time they realize they can't beat me." Avn' Dur flashed a jagged smile at Kothar.
"Alright, now tell me, can I really leave this plane? I need to make sure my people are safe, and find the being that may have destroyed them." Kothar stared earnestly at Avn' Dur, his first real glimmer of hope finally in front of him.
"Of course, interplanar travel is simple, all you need to do is surpass the most powerful beings on Eclat." Avn' Dur gave Kothar a sarcastic grin.
"Now don't get too discouraged, as an otherworlder you're sure to have the experience and level headedness to get there, and judging by your little adjustments, you should be just fine." Avn' Dur grinned and tapped his left eye.
"So you know all my secrets. Tell me then, what are you?"
"A little rude, don't you think? Ursten is one of the more homogenous nations on this plane, you haven't seen anything yet. Get used to it, believe me, you'll have plenty of chances to be surprised, just wait till you get off this tiny little island."
"Island? How about a map?"
"Come now, what were you expecting from me, a welcome basket along with the keys to the kingdom. No, you're doing quite well for yourself already, take care." Avn' Dur turned to leave, picking up his swords from where they leant against the stump.
"Hold up, what can you tell me about the Devourer?" Avn' Dur whirled around, the blood leaving his face, his face now white as a sheet.
"No. I'll not speak of such things, and you'd best not mention that name again." Avn' Dur muttered out, returning to his closed off and lazy tone of voice, no longer cheery. The mist swirled up, wrapping him once again.
"Safe travels, and when you decide to subjugate a kingdom, just know, I won't be far."
Avn' Dur's voice echoed from the darkness around the camp.
[All in all, I'd say that went quite well.]
[Silane, I just got choked and kidnapped by a strange man, what part of that went well?]
[Well, we didn't die again, and we know we can leave this place.]
[Yes, we can leave Eclet. And see what's become of the Alliance, if there even is an Alliance anymore.]
[They'll be fine Kothar, I'm sure there were failsafes.]
[Yes but what about the Garden, it was right there.] Kothar began to choke up, emotions rushing in, as the adrenaline from the encounter with Avn' Dur wore off.
[We won't know till we get there, now how about you make tracks and worry about the people we care about on this plane.]
[You're right, I'd rather not stay in this camp much longer.]
A soft glow filled the sky, brushing the rolling hills with golden light. Kothar had walked through the night, and he was rewarded with the sight of the plains that surrounded Balin and its neighboring towns.
[Not far now, we should be in Nief by this afternoon.]
[Alright Silane, we both know how far it is.]
[Just making conversation.]
[Here we go, my AI makes conversation now.]
Kothar had a faint smile on his face as he continued to trek onwards, a cool breeze flowing across the plains.
The dirt track gave way to paved stone as they neared Nief, soon the walls of the town came into sight. It was barely a town, a collection of about 40 buildings within the walls, surrounded by farms and a sprawling village.
Kothar made his way to the tavern in the village, if Simon was in Nief, he would likely be staying there. If he wasn't, he would have left a message with the barkeep.
The tavern was dimly lit and filled with unidentifiable smells, as most taverns are. Kothar made his way to the bar, where the barkeep was poring over a sheaf of papers, his long blonde curls covering his face.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for-" Kothar was cut short as the barkeep looked up from his papers to reveal Simon, who grinned at Kothar.
"Who are you looking for, nephew?"