Siquioce opened his eyes and looked up at Kantuta, who had
pulled him to the shore of the lake he was laying in. Widening her eyes,
Kantuta said, "Finally! I thought you would never wake up. What sort of spell
were you put under?"
Siquioce blinked, shaking his head as he answered, "Oh, I
wasn't put under any sort of spell, Kantuta. I was just having a dream."
"A dream?" Kantuta asked, "It must have been quite the
powerful dream to render you as unresponsive as you were!"
Siquioce sat up, leaning back against the bank as he stated,
"Not exactly. My dream wasn't too interesting; all that happened was that I met
two strange beings in a white space…Hara and Abiro I think were their names.
They were like floating sprites except much more simple and geometric. They
talked to me about how I was granted access to a mystical dimension called the
Dreamscape for visiting this Paradise; it's like this world in your mind that
you can find refuge in. Oh yeah, and they mentioned being representatives of
the gods or something of that nature. I was a bit surprised to hear that."
Kantuta tilted her head and peered at Siquioce for a few
seconds before saying, "Er…I am glad to hear that your vibrant imagination
granted you such a... unique dream. Anyway, is our business done here? Shall we
move on from this location?"
Siquioce pushed himself up and rose to his feet, "Yeah, I
guess we should."
"Good. Oh, by the way…" Kantuta brought her right hand
forward, showcasing a slightly wet bluegull chick, "I found this little one
floating in the water. Did you forget that he was on your head?"
Siquioce gasped, laughing nervously as he put the chick back
in his place, "Oh, my mistake. I didn't consider the fact that he doesn't
swim."
Kantuta grumbled, "Yeah, I figured. Fortunately for you, bluegull
chicks have adapted to have lofty down that allows them to float on the water.
That still did not stop me from having to struggle my way through the water to
pull him in to safety, though, nor did it stop someone from providing me
with assistance."
Lazily lying on his back, Yuchauzh said, "What part of 'it's
not my problem' don't you understand, elf?"
"Simpleton…" growled Kantuta as she shook her head, "Anyhow,
Siquioce, where are we headed next?" she pulled out a map and pointed at a symbol
of a red flower, "Personally, I would like to head for the Scalebark Jungle; I
hear that the Talonroot Daisy is in bloom there. But that is entirely up to
you."
Siquioce looked at the map for a bit before responding, "Okay,
we can go there. It is near another Paradise location, after all. I assume that
this Talonroot is a magical ingredient?"
"That is correct. I require the roots to learn how to do the
Scythes spell. Plus, I would not mind using the petals to enhance my
appearance!" Kantuta smiled, giving Siquioce a playful wink.
Yuchauzh rolled his eyes, "Typical…"
Kantuta snapped her attention towards her associate, "What
was that?!"
Siquioce walked forward and pushed his hands outwards, "That's
enough, you two. Let's just go, already."
Kantuta looked after her friend, crossing her arms as she
scoffed, "Fine, then." before following after him, with Yuchauzh doing the same
shortly behind.
Once the trio exited the ziggurat, Taka-Balo's green self
reappeared, booming, "You are now exiting the Floralie Paradise. Hopefully your
visit was a pleasant one."
Siquioce turned his head and responded, "Our visit was
pleasant, thank you. And thank you for allowing us into this place!"
Taka-Balo smiled a bony smile, "It was a pleasure, young Samanian;
I always enjoy seeing up-and-coming adventurers such as you take the first step
in this enlightening journey. I can only hope that your experience at the next
Paradise will go as smoothly as this one."
"Thank you kindly. And yeah, hopefully it will. Will we be
subject to another set of riddles?"
The skull shook his head, "I'm afraid not. My sister, Taka-Mali,
has a different test for her guests. But I will not spoil anything; you shall
see for yourselves what she has in store."
"Hm, okay." Siquioce nodded, "Well, I guess we'll just set
off, then. Goodbye, Taka-Balo!"
Taka-Balo nodded back, "Farewell, you all. May you all keep
your wits about you as you progress through this excursion." The spirit started
spinning and floating into the air, letting out green sparks as he shouted, "Rudatega!"
before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
Following that farewell, Siquioce turned back to the east
and waved his hand forward, saying, "Okay, everyone, this way!"
Kantuta watched Siquioce take a few steps forward before
walking towards him and spinning him 180°, correcting, "Scalebark Jungle would
be this way."
Realizing his mistake, Siquioce chuckled, "Oh, right. Yes,
this way!"