Well the start has been successful but will it stay this way? They seem to be taking a break near the sun set to leave and make their way into the town once more...Hm? Well of course I know the reason why...Keep watching and maybe your one track mind might be able to see in new colours...Why am I not surprised that it went over your head? Never mind let us just see what they plan to do to end the day...They even seem to be planning to check on the Azamaar...Third time's the charm I believe the saying is so let us see what unfolds.
The door of the Azamaar's hut was knocked as Mathis popped his clones head through and saw Kyu snoring softly, looked back at the original, putting his thumb up before he dissipated and Mathis walked in and shouted,
''Oi bird! We got work to do so up you get! It's been half a day anyway you should be fine!''
The angel jolted up in bed and stared at the prince through his even more wild and unkempt hair before speaking coldly,
''Mathis,..What.''
''Umm...We are going to train some soldiers and kill some blade scorpions...You could use their venom in some potions right?''
Kyu calmed as he started getting up, picking up his gear before replaying,
"Oh you should have said so...Yeah I'll help with the training, it should not be too hard...Anyways what's a Blade Scorpion?"
Mathis looked at the bird before he turned away answering,
"Really big scorpions with Razor sharp tails bigger than a sword. A bit smaller than the centaspiders I think though so it should be fine...we should be able to get some good stuff out of it. So hurry up, you have wasted enough daylight."
Kyu looked over to Mathis, strapping his blades to his side's and fastening his robe as he smiled at the wood elf,
"Oh Mathis ,I am a servant of the moon, the cursed sun will only hinder my progress."
He said as they walked through the doors out into the cavern. Not far from the exit they saw Bee waiting for them, Holding his one hammer before noticing the two coming, placing it back on his hip before Mathis spoke,
''I miss my staff too...I get it but we have work to do.''
The demon only nodded as he walked out followed by Kyu, Mathis turned as he left and shouted,
''Come on Wilt! Oi big man! We should only be there a few hours! Keep everything clean!''
Wilt ran past huffing as the prince walked out to the sounds of Elias shouting angrily at him as they made their way to the town.
As they made their way into the old pathways of the town, walking and waving past the evening vendors selling bottles of water, ales and other merchandise. Mathis bought everyone a round and the angel a water before pulling out a Sand Storm for himself. They walked down towards the largest building they knew as Mathis spoke to himself, stood outside the establishment,
''That Place...My god they really had no idea did they?''
The crew all walked through the door to applause as Regal and two people cladded in full light leather armor approached, waving them towards the crew and spoke,
''Mathis, this is Sarah and Matthew. They are the prodigies of Glassand when it comes to combat so let us see if they can survive a true test!''
The two walked forward as the prince looked them over, the first being a rather tall human man but his young age of maybe nineteen to twenty years old was given away by the stubble with sandy brown hair, dull grey brown eyes with look of anxiety and a small amount if false pride before he place a hand over his lunge, mimicking a knight from a fairy tale,
''W-WELL! SON OF B...B...BOCAJ EH?! I'LL P-PROTECT YOU MY LAD-...LORD I MEAN LORD!''
As he said these words a look of shock entered his eyes, instantly bowing, trying his best to hide his face from the group as a harsh red blush went to his cheeks. A young woman around the same age as the embarrassed young man stepped forward placing her hand over her heart before she proclaimed.
"I am a protector of Glassand and it's brightest fire!''
Mathis walked towards the girl, her nut brown hair tied back showing her milky grey eyes with a scar going down the right eye, he small stature was nothing as she seemed to hold the weight of the large headed hammer on her hip but her face showed fear as the prince was now inches from her, looking in her eyes before he spoke,
''Oh? I hate fire. The shadows are my residence so I mill make sure you are worthy to protect my new home.''
Now looking past the terrified girl, smiling warmly at the male making him confused before the prince spoke again,
''Fear not good soldier! We will show you how to defeat these beasts!''
Kicking the sand under his feet and with sparks of black flames forming into his sword contract, speaking it's name into the air and raising it with a twirl,
"Lytesbane"
The two young guards fell to their backs as they were looking in a strange mixture of awe and fear, Mathis pointed the weapon in the direction he spoke, once more looking down like a priest on his pedestal,
"I am a prince of Rococto and until you're out of breath you're under my fealty and that means that you need to become strong enough to defend these lands and even though you're only human I expect loyalty till the end. Now rise for we all have much to do. To raise our new empire!''
The crowd erupted in a drunk roar of support as the two got up and noticed the crew all leaving the bar as they hurried after them.
Around the outskirts of town on the barren side Mathis stopped, looking around before he turned and spoke,
''Right. Here are the rules! You can't go back until you have one dead scorpion ready to take home! Biggest one wins a hundred Dragons and you have thirty minutes...Go!''
Both looked at each other before bolting off towards the closest areas known for the beasts, over the sands towards the rocky plateau known for their breeding and the occasional blue dragon, both of them pushed their body's in the hope of finding one large enough to win their dragons. Never dreaming of such an amount.
As the plateau grew closer in the distance while the sun faded ever dimmer as night began to enveloped the sands. In the distance they saw flashes of white from one direction and red from another, knowing the others were already beginning their fights as Matthew turned to the girl with panic in his voice,
''Sophie! We are behind already so let's hurry up!''
''Shut up I found a nest so hurry up!''
The man smiled as he started to ascend a few feet up a jagged rock wall to the girl who was holding on to a giant hole, he looked in to see the creatures they were hunting all asleep but just as terrifying as the stories said, ten feet long in just its main body with a long, jagged and sharp tail that looked like a used longsword, Many sets of smaller legs under it's hard belly but four main large three feet long legs on each side next to the six feet long claws that adorned either side of its many eyes, It's shell was a dark navy blue that seemed to blend in with the dark skies light as Sophie tapped and whispered to him,
''I've got one scorcher on me, should be enough to wake them up and start cooking them.''
She pulled out a small metallic sphere with a pull strap near the top and looked back at the man,
''You think we can take them? Only two so one each sounds good.''
Matthew nodded and started to slowly draw his blade and perching himself on a lower part to wait for the creatures to scurry as the pin was pulled, the sphere dropped into the hole sending a flume of fire up making the jagged small rock take the shape of a active volcano as the insectoid screech's could be heard in all directions. Sophie jumped to the lower layer, grabbing Matthews arm as she dangled, looking up as her smile soon faded to fear as the man looked confused at her but before he could speak the girl was sent to the ground. Still holding the now severed arm of her brother and looking up still to see one large beast completely unharmed by this, now swarming over Matthew as his screams began only to soften as the girl smacked into the sands and indented into them, now laying with tears in her eyes and her ribs feeling cracked all she could do was watch, her vision started to blur and fade out but not before seeing three blurs move up the rock, one of black, one of white and one of a similar crimson of the fires that stretched into the sky until a pale green was the last she saw stood over her before her vision was nothing but black.
Feeling like only seconds later she awoke but the surroundings she saw were not the warmth of the golden sands that she knew but that of pure white above her and pitch black below, no shapes of anything could be seen and no nature showed itself as she spun and looked until arriving to the spot she started at but this time with a exact copy of her but the colour scheme was reversed, the other girl laughed and pointed at her until she finally spoke with a distorted effect,
''You really are pathetic. Glassand's bright flame? Ha! Let's look at what happened under this puny embers watch shall we? You were rash and did not think about the after effects and the other possibilities of your command...You only saw the glory and snatched at it like the child you still are...What else? How about not being able to protect your brother? All you had to do was say anything...literally anything and moved his attention to them and he would be fine and have both arms right now...Do you even have anything that you could say to defend yourself?!''
The clone looked angry as the original only started to cry, trying to hold the tears back as she responded,
''It is my fault...Matthew will never swing a sword again and it is all because of me...But I will not let this go unchanged. I will become the strongest in the world to avenge his-''
The distorted voice seemed to raise in tone, now sending the blacks and whites into strands that pierced the other colour,
''Avenge him from what?! Your own stupidity?! Do you really think you can just act like this never happened?!''
The clone was now grabbing the girl, leaving her paralyzed as the copy spoke soft,
''You will see. You will see the life you will now live for what you have done.''
As the words were spoken the whole world went to black and the other girl was no longer. It was just Sophie alone and paralyzed with her feelings and emotions as her eyes started to flutter back into life, making Kyu avert his gaze from the young girl turning to look over at Wilt, his eyes that were glowing silver in his open and his closed green eyes leaking for the scar as he demeaned,
"Clean the patient's wounds and dress them. I need that arm. I don't think he has long….I will not allow a pesky poison to kill a youngling nor will we abandon him to his fate then once your done deal with the girl"
Wilt did not say a word as he began, cleansing the sands and dirt from within his wounds and allowing them to absorb the poison and force it to the surface, looking like a form of infection as he whipped it off showing how bad the venom really was. It had burned through his cartilage and to the bone in some areas of his face making Wilt almost gag at the sight, his experience being the only thing that stopped him. Finishing tending to Matthew's injuries, letting Kyu take over as he brought the severed appendage over to the young man. Kyu took his white stained dagger and stripped the limb of its skin and muscle as Wilt went to Sophie looking at her chest, seeing the indent and a trail slowly leading blood down to the hot sands below. Almost feeling sad for the girl he pulled out some powders along with some oils, mixing them into a gel before smearing it around the wounds creating a layer of protection from the elements while making sure she did not bleed out, Wilt sighed before calling to Kyu.
"Hey Kyu just sorted Sophie's rib for the time being but remember I can't reset a wound like this. I'd probably pop her lungs or something."
Kyu was in deep concentration healing Matthew while muttering prayers to himself and the unconscious man as he moved his silver eye to wilt responding in a cold tone.
"She will be fine till the others get here. Plus she said she wanted penance so she can wait for now."
Wilt simply nodded as he felt a cold presence behind going to grab his weapon as he saw the elven prince pull himself out of Wilt's small shadow.
"Sorry I was aiming for Kyu's shadow but the smell of paladin kind of dragged me...Tight squeeze there….Anyway what's the status of these two? Regal is flying over now and Bee is talking down the women who owns the bar...She is their sister after all.''
Mathis looked over the girl, eyes starting to open more before she grabbed his cape, making him laugh as he spoke,
''She will be fine it seems. She needs to learn her limits though."
He pulled the bandages from his wrists and handed them to Wilt before opening his palm and making the tiny shadow imp appear in his hand as he spoke,
''One I need you to assist Kyu with the surgery he will be performing. I will take the lead on her. Good job on protecting them buddy.''
One nodded his head frantically as his little wings moved at the speed of a hummingbird, making his way over to Kyu before gently landing on his shoulder, getting a birds eye view of the patient as Kyu began to speak,
"I will need you to begin stripping his body. We will need to get all of the venom out of his system before his liver and kidneys give out. Can you do that?"
The small imp hopped down, nodding frantically before trying to speak.
''Y-YeS! Wh-Wha-WHAT about T-The scarring??''
Without hesitation Kyu started replying,
"Unfortunately we cannot save his original form though we can save him from pain if he works fast enough."
The two began their works as the prince was seen resetting the bone with a twisted smile as the crack could be heard, making the girl cry out and actually make a sound this time as the prince spoke, sarcasm rich with every word he spoke at the girl,
''Oh? Did that hurt? My apologies. Now come on, be a warrior and stand. If a rib braking is enough to stop you in war then you will be dead and forgotten at the bottom of the corpses. Got it?''
The girl nodded through the pain, slowly starting to stand with assistance from the goblin as the three left the angel and the imp to their work, noticing a hawk coming in at great speed with a nosedive before hitting the ground, sending sand and feathers into the air as Regal stood with a face of fear before seeing Sophie standing and letting out a smile, speaking softly to the girl,
"Ah it seems you are not yet worthy of the trial and with you taking it too hastily, you almost got your own kin killed and I doubt he will ever be the same again. So it's time to buckle down like your forefathers before you...or is the Prince right about you?"
Sophie was surprised at how calm the old man spoke to her as he walked past, tapping her on the forehead with his staff before continuing to the boy and sitting with Kyu as Sophie's stare was broken by the prince barking in the background.
''Wilt! Make sure the area is secure for Indra's sake we have surgery going on!''
She turned to see the goblin nod and move on as she spoke to the prince,
''How?''
Mathis seemed confused by this as she continued,
''You are a mean and vindictive person-''
''Thank you!''
''...But still these strong men follow you and seem happy...You have faced some of the worst the sands have to offer and yet you are fine?...Do you not care about them?''
Mathis walked to her and stared into her eyes once more before responding coldly,
''I care more of them than you do for your brother apparently.''
He pointed to the large rock she climbed before continuing,
''Any adventurer with a working brain could see that it is a big hive...Did you really only think there were two or did you get bored of running and just want to get it over with? Think about that and when you have an answer for me...I don't think you will have to ask why they follow me again if you figure out the right question...Or is a hundred Dragons worth your brother's life? Wilt! Check the south end! I'll take the north!''
The prince walked off towards the now smoking rock as the girl was left realising he was right, not having the answer he spoke of. She racked her brain while staying close to the healers with her hammer in hand and trying to ignore the pain in her torso surging up and down as she turned to look in every direction. The other two made their way back to the group as they spent the night's glow trying to save the life of a man that should promise to the False Heroes.
Being a leader is not just a tag for showing off...It is a symbol that you are now responsible for the lives of your new comrades, stupid or smart, big or small it does not matter anymore. They are under your charge and in the opposite effect. You become the one responsible for their souls....Not all people can handle the pressures as we are seeing here. One a fine leader who tries to take the brunt of the attack and then another who's rash decision could have cost her the brother she has always had. Say what you want about Mathis, Kyu, Bee...Hells all of the False Heroes but the one thing you cannot say is that they do not work well together, they have forged their connection through the fires of hatred, a shared goal and an unholy passion among all of them that could easily rival that of a god and that will only make the rebuilding of Glassand go by even quicker and make their enemies take notice much sooner than the crew will have originally anticipated so alas with the sands of time still decay away at the lives of all things it touches. The only recourse is to teach your pupils all you know to guarantee they have a chance to bloom into something greater than the prior predecessor. After all, a tree that grows in the shadows will never get the chance to become something of its own and will fall into nothing other than nutrients to restart the cycle and give a chance to a new seed to sprout and make it's choices better...What?...If a god wishes to go on a beautiful tangent that relates to the crew that you are watching then you better believe the god will fucking do it understood boy?...Well that was a moment that my old adventuring self rose to the surface...Doesn't happen very often but let's continue. I wish to see where this will go and seeing the failings of the older generations puts a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sure you understand.