They had been in the dark so long, whence they came upon the light, there was a blinding flash shining on their eyes. Ryuma held his hand above his face to shield himself from the rays of the sun. Despite the discomfort, he couldn't help but smirk. So long as they made it alive, that was all that mattered.
"That was actually pretty big. You did good Kosha," Ryuma patted his shoulder lightly.
"Aaarrggghhhh!" Kosha's entire body shivered. "Dude, I got slammed into a wall! My body is still aching!"
"Oh really? I'm pretty sure I got slammed more than you,"
"Of course! You priest freaks recoveries are inhuman,"
"Oh… sorry about that. I keep forgetting you don't have spirit force," Ryuma said. Not only was it easy for Ryuma to take his healing factor for granted. Kosha's physical ability was beyond some priest he's fought in the Skylands. It was easy to forget that he was a regular human. He had to remember the disadvantages they tend to have.
Ryuma looked at his surroundings. He could see a village in the distance, but the entire area was surrounded by mountains to the point that they couldn't even see the horizon. There was an abundance of Orion flowers spread everywhere within it. The place reminded him a little bit of Hestia. Though there weren't nearly as much Orion flowers to be noticeable, there were some spread here and there.
Ryuma put his finger on his chin. Did Orion flowers grow naturally like this? He couldn't imagine there to be any reason as to why a village would spend time and resources artificially growing them.
He shook his head of the thought. What did it really matter anyway? The point was, they were here. The hometown of Erin Frost. The child who was burned at the stake by an edict.
So many questions he had. Who was his family? Were they still alive? How did they view the Skylands? Should he tell them the truth?
He looked at the village with determination. He had to see for his self what was going to happen, but the nervousness was setting in.
"Come on. Let's see what this town is all about," Ryuma nudged.
"Sure but… what are you expecting to find anyways?" Kosha asked.
"To be quite honest. I really don't know what I'm going to find," Ryuma said.
"The fuck are we doing here then?"
Ryuma stayed silent this time. He wouldn't understand anyways. He needed just as much answers as Erin's family. Question was… How was they going to take the news?
"Fine. Leave me out of the loop. I guess I've gotten used to it by now,"
Ryuma grumbled. Kosha could be annoying at times.
They were getting closer to the village. It being an isolated village, he expected it to be as small as Hestia. Probably as oppressed as well. The town was roughly the same size as Lue was before him. He already had experience being in a town the size of Lue. Towns like these, people are less likely to connect with each other, but unlike a city, there was still some level of solidarity.
Ryuma tapped his ring and changed into his surface dweller outfit. He wasn't ready to let everyone know that he was a Skylander now. Especially since one of theirs was kidnapped and murdered. It was overall safer to be unknown.
"I will warn you though. Naru can get a bit… invasive," Kosha said.
"They get what?" Ryuma asked as they walked into the town. There was a big sign at the top that spelled Naru in big letters.
Ryuma analyzed the place and the people first chance he got. He wanted a feel for what could be going on. The locals, especially the woman did likewise. Some started gossiping in his direction, whilst smiling. In an instant, Ryuma could tell the woman were infatuated with him. He used to be oblivious to things of this nature, but Sara's lessons had taught him to be more attuned with how those around him felt about him.
Especially when it came to woman.
"Excuse me. You must be new around here," A young woman, bubbly with personality was the one to approach him first.
"Where are you from?" Another one came up to him and asked.
"What do you do?"
"Are you single? Do you have a girlfriend or anything?"
Ryuma held up his hands defensively. "Whoa ladies," He could only nervously smile. "I'm sure you're all extremely charming. However, there are things I need to accomplish before I could think to settle down,"
They all looked amongst each other and began giggling. "Wow. He's so mysterious. He can even refuse our charm," one said.
{Kosha! Help me out here!} Ryuma looked at him with his thoughts displayed all over.
Kosha smiled back nervously while scratching the back of his head. He too was getting bombarded with questions from guys and girls alike. Some just as infatuated with him.
"I'm sorry. The only visitors we seem to get is the regular traders making their round. It's rare for new people to show up," One of the girls explained.
"Really? Why's that?" Ryuma asked.
"It's because this town only has one viable entrance and that's through the trench of mountains," Another girl answered.
"And that one has a checkpoint, often guarded by priests. Nobody likes getting scanned by priest, especially not women," They tossed their heads in indignation.
He was right. This village had its share of problems with the priest. For some reason or another, it didn't seem like they spoke of them with the same level of fear that Hestia had. More like, minor annoyances.
"What about the non-viable entrances?" Ryuma asked. Major rule when asking a question, the first one always have to be a question you know the answer to. That way if they lied, then at least Ryuma could tell the person or people he's associating himself with are liars. He'll know whose information is credible and whose isn't.
"Well I supposed you can take going over the mountain as an entrance. I don't think you'll make it all the way through with it being a yellow area for apparitions," One girl said.
"Well there's that mine that everyone's so afraid of," Another girl said.
"Are you crazy?! Do you want to get this man killed," Another girl said.
Unbeknownst to them, him and Kosha already cleared that mine. If they so wanted to, they could happily sneak past the mountains.
"He doesn't look like a fighter to me. He's too handsome to be one. I'm pretty good at spotting these sorts of things,"
"Hahaahaa. I'm afraid you're right. Fighting isn't one of my strong suits," Ryuma laughed it off as he held his hand up.
"So are you like a travelling merchant? Is that like, your bodyguard?" The girls asked.
"Well, I am a traveler but I'm no merchant," He looked at Kosha who they were referring to. "But I guess you can say he's somewhat of a bodyguard,"
Kosha glared at him. He wasn't paying him for anything. How dare he insinuate something like that. Now he had to treat him with higher respect, otherwise his reputation would be in the gutter. Ryuma looked at him with the eyes that said. {Bear with it.}
"Hey newcomer. It's nice to see a pair of fresh faces in these parts. How about we buy you a drink and have a chat at the bar," The man offered.
"Ahh. No thanks. There's someone I'm looking for who may have crossed here. I'm just stopping here on a personal search," Ryuma said.
"Nonsense. If that's the case, then that's more the reason to join us. A donkey couldn't keep a secret around these parts. If there's anything or anyone you're looking for, the whole town would've heard about it," The man said.
Ryuma blinked. The guy had a point. It's not as if he was looking for anybody specific here. He hardly knew anyone. "Fair point. I guess I'll join you," Ryuma smiled.
"No fair Benkai. You always get overly friendly with all the handsome ones," The girls complained. "Yeah. Let the ladies have some fun for once,"
"You girls with your marriage fetish. You'd scare off every visitor we have if I did that. We didn't even get the man's name yet and you horndogs are already hounding him," Benkai said.
"Spsshhh! You're no fun! Spoil sport! Don't you got a field to tend to!?" They all complained.
"Whatever. Now that it's been brought up, it'd do a fair good of justice if we knew your name partner. Just like ya heard, names Benkai. Mind if I get yours?" Benkai asked. He held his hand out.
Kosha shook his hand first. "My names Kosha. It's nice to meet you. Wow is everyone around here is still as nice as I remember,"
"Oh, you've been here before?" Benkai asked.
"Yeah, but it's been a while. You probably wouldn't remember it anyways,"
"And what of you Mr. Lady-killer? I'm afraid if I let you roam, we'd go extinct cuz you took all the damn girls with you,"
"Oh me? My names Erin…"
Though he grabbed the man's hand to shake it, he noticed the frozen look and the far-off stare he had. At this moment, Ryuma thought about what he said. Did he just mess up?