"Before the orbs," Durin started. "Were five creatures, the original inhabitants of Mirac. The search for greener pastures had driven you humans from the cold, frozen hinterlands to Mirac. Moved by the tenacity and intelligence of your species, they had cohabited peacefully with you.
Dracon, eyes aflame, capable of leveling mountains with brute strength, Tempora, with wisdom beyond eons, Kosma, encompassing all and her highness Rhea, nature incarnate."
"So the voices in our heads have names, that's reassuring. What happened to them?" I questioned.
"No one knows, I woke up one day and they were gone, four glowing orbs in their wake. I could sense Her Highness's aura on the green one, so I protected it ever since until the humans came for it." Durin replied.
"So, we still don't know why the orbs possessed y'all, then," Rylan concluded.
"Apart from it being something about preventing Mirac's doom, no," Anastasia answered.
"If I may suggest something, I'd advise you to find the bearer of Tempora's orb. Her time powers should trigger a prophecy in the bearer that could answer some of your questions." Durin said.
"Fair enough, which orb were we pursuing again?" Rylan asked.
"The space orb," Ana replied.
"Alright then, how about we find that first and report to the palace, before setting out in search of the time orb," I suggested.
Rylan patted his knees. "Sounds like a plan. Now if you don't mind, I could use some sleep before the morrow. It's been an eventful night."
"Right." Anastasia acknowledged.
We all retreated to our corners of the petit house, Ana trailed closely by the protective faerie and went to sleep.
The next few days were quite uneventful as we found our way out of Durin's territory. With her to guide us out in person, it took less than I guessed it would for other adventurers if they survived the trip.
By the afternoon of the fourth day, we had passed through the mountain range, looking over Valtor's plains, with fields and meadows stretching as far as the eyes can see, punctuated by the occasional settlement.
"There it is, Valtor," Rylan announced with a flourish.
"Now, where to find the space orb," Anastasia said.
"With the way things are going, probably in the back of a teen," I replied.
"Either way, there's no time to waste. Off we go." Rylan asserted.
We set off for the nearest village, which we later found was called Northfield, a small, lively place. Too tired to do much after our arrival, we booked rooms in a local inn and went to sleep.
The next day, we began our search for the space orb, asking for sightings, if any, of strange phenomena, or major changes among people.
The search did nothing but lead us to dead ends, with quite some amusing situations in between. Attempted scams, misleading clues, and unfriendly informants, we encountered them all. A week and d half later, we sat at Meadows bar, narrating our respective experiences so far.
We were all laughing at a joke of Rylan's when Durin suddenly adopted an alert stance, her jade wings quivering in seriousness.
"What's wrong, Durin?" Ana asked, wiping a tear off the corner of her eye.
"We're not alone." She announced with all the gravity of the world in her voice.
"We're in a bar, of course, we're not alone," Rylan answered.
"No," I answered, picking up the weird ripples in the space around me. "She's right."
We all went into defensive positions, surveying the space around us while the others at the bar watched in confusion.
Suddenly, I felt a wave of distortion surround me and then I was standing where Ana was moments ago. I looked up, bewildered to eyes looking at me with the same. We had all been swapped with someone else in the group.
Before anyone could react, a young woman materialized, casually balancing a pulsating orb in her hand.
"Looking for me?" she smirked, her eyes twinkling with mischief. The orb flickered in sync with her steps as she moved, causing small objects around her to levitate briefly.
"Who are you?" demanded Rylan, his hand instinctively reaching for his weapon. Fighting with this unknown girl would be pointless for him, though they had the same affinity. After all, she had just swapped our positions before he even noticed.
"Name's Nova," she said with a mock bow, "Bearer of the space orb, and your new best friend—or worst nightmare, depending on how this goes." She tossed the orb into the air, catching it deftly while casting a playful glance around the room.
"Let's just say I'm here to make things... interesting."