The sun beamed in brilliant rays of blinding lights that met Dimmetri's eyes, causing him to shield his vision with his arm over his brow. His mind was racing as his eyes darted around wildly in all directions trying to make out his surroundings as best as he could. At first glance he could see nothing but rows of shrubs that had berries and fruits stretching out before him in all directions. The warm kiss of the sun on his face made him think for a moment that he was perhaps in a warmer plane of existence or even on that of the main plain of Tytaura itself. The sweet smell of the berries and fruits rose to finally meet his nose and Dimmetri began to focus more. He slowed himself down a bit and began to look around him more thoroughly. The portal had dumped him into the middle of a field and he could just make out what looked to be like a tree line and even mountains in the distance. He turned around and felt a slight sense of relief to see that the portal was still standing behind him. However the feeling quickly faded as he realized there was no sign of his daughter anywhere. The knotted feeling in the pit of Dimmetri's stomach began to grow as something felt more off then he could explain.
"Violet!" he called out into the rows of bushes and shrubs around him "VIOLET!"
His heart was pounding uncontrollably in his chest and suddenly he began to feel short of breath. Violet had always made sure to never stray too far from her parents before. Even if she did, she was always within earshot and always answered back immediately when she was called. Dimmetri's mind began to assume the worst. He began to wheeze slightly and began forcing himself to take long, deep breaths. The knot in his stomach turned more into a pain in his chest as a long forgotten feeling returned to him like he was suffocating. He felt like his lungs were on fire though he knew it was all in his head and fought with himself to regain control of his body. A brief moment of fear washed over him as he felt himself losing control for a moment, he dropped to a knee and clutched his chest as he tried hard to catch his breath. Suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrap around him as purple hair landed over his shoulder. He looked down and saw the purple hued skin of his wife and a sense of release came to him as he was able to suddenly catch his breath again.
"Breath. Breath" Iris told him in a soft soothing voice.
When Dimmetri was a child, he was forced to wear a mask that would help him breathe after his lungs were damaged in an accident. He wore the mask into his adult years until he was given a set of ventilating lungs. Before, when he took off the mask, his chest would burn and he could hardly breath like he did just then. With the lungs, he was able to breathe just fine again and could even breathe normally when others could not. However, whenever Dimmetri got overly stressed, he'd swing into a panic attack that brought back the same feelings from his childhood. Fortunately, Iris knew of this and knew how to calm him down enough so he could collect himself again. Luckily enough it seemed like she had chased after him through the portal and came to him just in time.
"I'm here Dimmetri, I've got you" she continued to say softly.
Dimmetri nodded slowly, acknowledging that he understood her and that he was in control once again, however he didn't let go of her arm as he spoke.
"Violet… she went through… the portal"he said between long drawn out breaths.
"Okay, okay, we will find her. We will." Iris replied.
Dimmetri could hear the increased worry suddenly in her voice and suddenly like a switch being flipped, Dimmetri felt like himself again as his concern for his wife outgrew his stress level. He turned a little in her hold and put his arms around her as well in an attempt to repay her some for her help. Her shoulders seemed to fall a bit in comfort just as Dimmetri noticed both Raz and Ezra come dashing through the portal as well. He noticed that as Ezra came through the portal began to shift a bit, the outer edges waning as what looked like small cracks began to crease through the swirl. The gate was beginning to destabilize itself and fall apart.
"No no no no!" Dimmetri called out as he broke free of Iris's grasp and lunged towards the portal.
Just then Dimmetri felt a heavy weight hit him in his mid section as Destin leaped through the portal and fell on top of Dimmetri. The portal let out a loud 'Varoom!' just as it shattered and collapsed in on itself. Dimmetri let out a string of swears as the two impacted the ground, nearly knocking the wind out of him. With a chorus of groans the two begin to uneasily roll away from another.
"W-where are we?" Raz asked out loud as she looked around bewildered.
Dimmetri and Destin slowly made their way to their feet when Dimmetri realized the bulk of the weight that had hit him was from the pack Destin must have hurled through the gate just before he leapt through himself. It was extremely heavy and Dimmetri assumed it carried most if not all of their things from the campsite. He helped Destin to his feet as he looked around again, this time with a more observant eye as he tried like everyone else to figure out where they were and if anyone could see Violet.
"Strange, this kind of berry is normal grown close to city of Curdin in the northern reaches of the Tytauran plain" said Ezra as he knelt down and began to examine the bushes "But it's much too hot out to be anywhere near their and the leaves on the bush are normally of a darker color"
Ezra was one of, if not, the smartest person Dimmetri knew. He had a keen mind to be able to recall almost anything he had read, seen, or heard of before. Dimmetri didn't blame him, however, for not knowing what plants were around them. Things like that were normally Iris's strong suit but she was beginning to open the bag Destin had brought and was grabbing a few of her things including her staff from inside. The staff was made of dark wood and was almost as tall as she was. It was hand carved with purple and red feathers tied on a leather string bound towards the top of the staff. Dimmetri had made the staff himself some time ago as a gift for his wife when they first got married. It took him months to find the perfect tree to carve it from deep within the swamps of Willow Marsh.
Seeing Iris begin to grab her gear from the bag, the others began to join her and began to pull their own equipment out of the bag. Dimmetri was glad now they had decided to pack for trouble just in case and pulled out a black leather bag from inside. Stepping away from the others, he began to pull his equipment from it with some of the pieces looking like they were far too big to hold in any ordinary bag itself. One by one, he placed the pieces of his armor out on the ground and began placing everything on over his existing clothes. His armor covered nearly every inch of his body as he slipped it on and fastened the buckles he could and snapped pieces into place. Iris came over to help him get on the pieces he struggled with and a short time later he was nearly completely suited up. He reached into the bag once more and with some help, pulled a large black pack from inside. The pack looked like an overly long quiver with arrows sticking out from one end and multiple zippers and buckles all over it. Dimmetri gave the bag a quick look over, making sure that his bow was securely held by the straps on the side of the bag and made sure he could see the golden handle of another weapon he kept deep inside the bag. Satisfied that it was all there, he flung the pack over his shoulders before reaching into the bag once more.
He fondled around in the bag blindly for a moment before he felt the familiar shape of what he was looking for in his grasp. As he slowly pulled his hand back out he revealed the custom helmeted mask that had earned him his name in the North in which he came from. The mask that he had worn most of his life and had at one point, been a major component in his very survival. To some, Dimmetri had heard the mask had become a symbol of the North. A strong, resilient people personified through Dimmetri's very actions under a different alias. To some others it was a sign of rebellion. Either that of against the rule of powerful tyrannical powers from other realms, or against that of the once strong trafficking business that had been since abolished in the North in large parts thanks to Dimmetri himself. However, to Dimmetri, the mask not only served as just a piece of his armor, but as a transparent wall he could but on to take a step back from the world for a moment without any judgment.
Dimmetri looked at Iris and saw a slight frown on her face when she saw him pull out the mask. She had strong mixed emotions about the mask as she had clearly told him about in the past. In part, felt she owed a bit of her life to the mask she supposed. Without it she would have technically never have met her Dimmetri and they wouldn't have had the life she loved to that day. However, she felt the mask was also a literal interpretation of the metaphorical mask that Dimmetri wore when he put it on. For years he had worn it before she'd even seen his face for the first time. It was then she found out that he tended to hide his true feelings behind the mask in fear of judgment from the world around him. She hated that he felt that way and had done her best over the years to break down that barrier. Dimmetri had come a long way since then and even he himself admitted he wasn't the same person he was then. With that, he promised Iris and himself he'd only ever wear it when things got serious and he needed to think more clearly.
Dimmetri saw Iris give him a reluctant nod and wasn't sure if it was of approval or of acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation. He just gave her a short nod back before he looked back down at the mask in his hands. It too, like most of his armor, was painted in black and dark colors. The lower portion resembled that of a gas mask with large glass pains welded and riveted to the rest of it. The glass was a dark oxblood red in color and when it was equipped over his head, the pains would glow allowing him to see in almost any environment. However it also prohibited anyone from seeing his face within and that drove Iris crazy ever since she first met him. Dimmetri allowed himself a faint smile as he invited the warm memory of that day to roll through his mind before he placed the mask over his head at last. The mask made several loud whirring noises like something similar to that of spinning blades of an airship before puffs of cool vapor were expelled through the exhaust ports. The pains began to glow red as the whirring sound began to quiet down and eventually fell virtually silent.
"Okay, so am I the only one getting the vibes that we might be in a bit over our heads, oh nope. Clearly it's not just me" Destin said as he walked over and noticed the mask. "Great, we must be fucked and clearly not in the good way."
"Not fucked" Dimmetri said reassuringly as he stood and tied the bag the black bag to his belt "Just being prepared in case we run into trouble."
"That mask is gonna get us into more trouble then it will to get us out of it" Destin gripped as he pointed at the device on Dimmetri's face.
Dimmetri waved him off as he turned around and looked over towards Raz and Ezra. Ezra was looking down into a book, seemingly trying to still figure out where they were as Raz stood beside him. She turned and took notice of Dimmetri's mask but said nothing of it as she began to approach him.
"Ez thinks we might be closer to the capital on the main plane. That or perhaps somewhere in one of the Forest Elf kingdoms" Raz stated with her hand on her hip.
"Well, let's hope it's not the latter. I'm not in the mood for politics" said Iris with a sigh
"That's putting it kindly but, what do we do from here?" Destin asked.
"Everyone spread out, stay within ear shot range and overlapping coverage of your field of view. Iris, see if you can't see anything from the sky. Violet could be hiding somewhere amongst the shrubs. Call out if you find her and-" Dimmetri began until he spotted something moving towards them through the field past Ezra.
The others caught his gaze and followed it as the shapes grew closer. Dimmetri could just make out two different riders on horseback coming their way. Even from a distance, Dimmetri could tell they were wearing some sort of uniformed armor of both silver and gold. One rider was seemingly smaller than the other and the larger rider was mounted on what looked to be like a draft horse. Dimmetri had never seen the armor before and looked over to Ezra who in turn shrugged just as confused. Dimmetri felt himself tense up a bit but didn't reach for his pack strung across his back but clenched his fist and made sure he felt the small pointed end of a wand that was built in under his forearm. No words were spoken amongst the group as the riders approached and brought their mounts to a stop a few yards before them. The horses clearly had been riding hard for some time as they snorted and panted as they fought against the tightened reins and chewed on their bits.
"In the name of the queen, who tresspasses upon her royal fields?" the smaller of the riders asked aloud and waited for a response.
"Pardon us, we are travelers from the North and did not know this was a ah royal field. We simply entered looking for a young member of our party who we believe ran off in this direction sometime not long ago" Destin said as he stepped forward and gave an over dramatic bow.
"What business does this person have to be running into the queens field?" the rider asked.
"Forgive us, but she's but a young girl, my daughter in fact. A purple haired half elf about ye high" Dimmetri replied as he held his hand at about Violet's height.
The two riders looked at one another for a moment before the larger one took full notice of the group. He looked over in Iris's direction before his eyes narrowed on her some and he began to shift slightly in his saddle.
"A redheaded woman, a man with pale skin, a Bard of sorts, a suit of armor in black and red, and a drow with purple hair and skin." the larger rider said, speaking for the first time with a deep, bellowing voice.
The two riders looked at one another again before the shorter one looked at them with surprise in their eyes while the larger one sat up straighter. Dimmetri cocked his head gently to the side. It sounded as if the large man was quoting something rather than an observation.
"Tell me, the drow and suit of armor, what names do you go by?" he asked
"What's it to you?" Raz asked, stepping forward a bit in a defiant manner.
Dimmetri, Iris, Raz and Destin had made their fair share of enemies before, including in warmer climates amongst Lord and Ladies that were tied with illegal trafficking. Some nobles were just too high for them to touch and it was possible perhaps one of them may have become some far off queen. It had made traveling to some places when they got older a bit harder at times though most had fallen victim to their own undoing or befallen by some greater power. There was a tangible tension in the air for a moment before the smaller of the riders spoke up.
"We promise you no harm will become of any of you. It's just you must admit that you are an odd lot to see in the middle of a field all alone. Nothing more needs to come of this, we just simply ask that you leave this field at your earliest convenience"
"We will as soon as we find our daughter," Dimmetri replied a bit hotly in return even as the smaller rider seemed to try the civil route.
"Then allow us to help you if nothing more then to speed up the process" the bigger rider said before he dismounted his horse and looked over to the smaller rider, "Merrygold"
The other rider nodded and closed their eyes for some time before slowly shaking their head.
"I'm afraid there's no one in the field besides you lot. Even the ones who tend to this land are gone" the rider said.
"Hmmm that's odd," the larger rider replied and seemed honestly perplexed.
"Could just be there for a mid day meal?"
The bigger rider looked doubtful as he reached up and began to run his fingers through his large blonde mustache on his face. Dimmetri began to notice a bit more about the two riders as he looked at them moreover. The bigger of the two was completely bald sans his bushy blonde eyebrows and handlebar mustache. His eyes were small but sharp and he carried a large greatsword strung across his back. The smaller rider looked like a female with soft facial features and a great protruding breast plate. Dimmetri couldn't see any weapons but he knew very well that didn't mean that they were defenseless.
"Answer for an answer then." Dimmetri started as he shifted his weight some off to one side" My name is Dimma Ingelasias Matthew Mark Edwardo Timothy Richtophen Ingelheim, and this is my family. What kingdom do you belong to and who's your queen?"
The smaller rider in which the larger one had called Merrygold before seemed displeased with the uneven exchange in quantity and quality of the questions but the bigger rider answered in earnest before they could voice the matter.
"I am Striker Lance Wehlington and this is my partner Striker Alexa Merrygold of the kingdom of Yellicia under the great queen, Mary Galenthrope the first. I am not familiar with a place called just , the North. Where exactly do you hail from?" the big rider asked, confused a bit.
"We come from the InnBetween in the North, between the cities of Colk and Druaburn. What plane does Yellicia reside on?" Ezra responded butting in with his natural curiosity.
"Yellicia? I've never heard of it" Destin stated, playing with his own mustache.
"P-plane?" Merrygold asked, confused.
"What did you say your last names were again?" Wehlington asked, looking a bit more attentive now as he looked into Dimmetri's visor.
The tension returned and for a moment Dimmetri contemplated blasting the large man off his horse using his wand. However, something felt off to him and compelled him to reconsider. Merrygold seemed genuinely confused by the mention of planes while Wehlington seemed equally confused as well as intrigued. Dimmetri stared back into the man's eyes, still contemplating on his next course of action when he felt a soft grip around his hand. He turned his head to see Iris looking straight through his visor and straight into his eyes with a worried look on her face. He could tell she wasn't worried about their own safety so much as depleting the chances of finding their daughter. Dimmetri let out a sigh before turning back to answer.
"Our last name," Dimmetri answered while pointing to himself and Iris "is Ioena"
Merrygold let out a sharp gasp and covered their mouth as Wehlington's stony exterior gaze dropped into one of complete shock as his mouth hung open from under his great stache for a moment. Dimmetri himself was taken back by their reactions for a moment and looked back and forth between the two before Merrygold managed to compile their words together.
"You're, Dimmetri Ioena?" she asked.
"Y-yah?" Dimmetri replied, surprised she was able to put his name together so quick.
"And then you're… Iris Ioena?" Wehlington asked as he pointed still in shock at Iris.
Iris nodded, stunned as the two riders looked at one another, at the group before them, then again at one another.
"I must apologize for my rude behavior before," Wehlington started as he shifted somewhat nervously in his saddle. "If you would allow us to guide you back to the capital, we believe we might be able to greatly help you find your…daughter."
Dimmetri looked over at his wife, still confused on how they knew her name without them mentioning it before. Though it's possible Merrygold knew how to scry on them and did so from a distance before they arrived. Normally Ezra would have picked up on such a thing but perhaps with all that was going on before he didn't notice. Dimmetri was still wary of the two riders but they were desperate to find his daughter as he gave a small curt nod.
"Fine, we will come with you back to your capital. But only so we can find our child" Dimmetri replied.
The two riders nodded in agreement before steering their mounts in the direction in which they had come before.
"Right then" Merrygold smiled "to Krafmont!"