The sun was high in the sky and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Wind gently caressed the landscape and the hollow whistles of Aegis set the tone for the mission to come. The party of Heroes advanced through the shadows of the forest, pursuing their friend and his quest to become human again.
Phil was zipping through the trees and foliage with fierce determination. He knew this was his chance to get some real experience. There was no way he could sit back and let this all be taken away from him. '
'I have to make it to level 80.' Phil thought as he charged towards the goblin cave.
Pebble trailed behind slightly, but he could close the gap whenever he wanted to, "You want to go in first, Phil?" Pebble yelled from behind.
"I'm not missing this chance to level up, broski!" Phil replied while never turning back.
"Well, I'm with you! If anything, I can give you the stone armor when things get rough. Here, catch this as well!" Pebble threw his own lifestone to Phil and the snakeman managed to catch it quite easily while never breaking his pace. Pebble wanted Phil to have two Life Rocks just in case he took a hit.
"Thanks!" Phil shouted as he shoved the rock into his pocket and ducked under a tree branch.
"We're coming too!" Bard's voice was heard from behind, "We're all going in!"
"Sounds like a plan!" said Pebble.
The cave was actually manually dug out next to a big boulder. It looked to be the work of goblins with pickaxes and shovels, but it was made big enough for the team to enter with no problem. Phil entered the clearing in front of the cave and the red shirt guy was no longer around.
"He must already be inside!" Phil shouted back to Pebble.
Pebble entered the clearing and watched Phil slither past the goblin corpses and enter the cave, "Jesus, he's going right in!" He yelled back for Bard and the team as he pursued Phil into the cave.
There were fresh footprints in the dirt that led deeper into the cave. Next to the prints, there were two divots that indicated things were recently dragged next to the prints. Pebble followed them until he reached a fork.
"Phil!" He shouted and his voice echoed down both halls in front of him.
"I took the left, you go right!" Phil replied back.
Pebble shrugged and looked back to project his voice towards Bard and his other teammates, "You and Fred go left with Phil. Tell Puffy and Larry to go down the right path with me!"
"You got it!" Bard shouted back and pointed down the left path, and nodded at Fred. Fred was on his wheelchair and aiming his staff forward defensively, he nodded back and aimed his staff behind him. Bard grabbed onto the wheelchair's handles with an extra firm grip.
"Good luck, Pebble!" Alain said before activating his Wind Gust skill. He and Bard shot down the hallway at impressive speeds.
"Why!?" Puffy shouted at them as they sped away. He latched onto Pebble's leg and his whole body waved like a flag in the wind in the wake of Fred's skill. After the wind settled, only Pebble, Puffy and Larry were left in the main hallways.
"You good, Puffy?" Pebble asked as he offered his gnome friend a hand.
"Yeah, this happens often." Puffy said in a disgruntled tone while dusting off his arms again.
"Are we taking the right, sir?" Larry asked.
"Yes, we are. I'll go in first, wait for me to secure the area before running in with me. I'll armor up first. Larry, you and I don't have a Life Rock, so try to be safe." Pebble replied seriously.
"Well, I've never had a Life Rock in my life and it's never stopped me before!" Larry laughed. Pebble smiled at his squire and shrugged.
"Look, I'm new here in general. I just don't want you to die." Pebble stopped shrugging and looked over at Puffy, he has his arms up in the air but he wasn't moving, "What are you doing? It looks like you're a child waiting for uppies."
"F*ck you, that's exactly what I'm waiting for!" Puffy spat, "Pick me up and I'll show you what support is supposed to look like." Puffy declared and Pebble wanted to argue, but Puffy gave a stern glare and Pebble conceded. Puffy was lifted up onto Pebble's shoulder, he then pulled out his wand and summoned three flying shields and four flying knives.
"This is great, I'll have the shields cover your blind sides and the knives, well they'll just be doing their thing, don't mind them." Puffy informed Pebble and the knives bobbed in agreement.
"They know not to poke me, right?" Larry said as he eyed the closet knife. The knife looked at Larry and inched closer in response.
"Yeah, they should. I think you'll be fine!" Puffy smiled and Larry's demeanor shrunk.
"AHHHH" A scream echoed down the right hallway, interrupting the team's preparation.
"What the hell is that?" Larry hid his face.
"I don't know, but we're going to find out." Pebble said before kicking the ground and summoning his stone armor around himself. Puffy jumped to dodge the encroaching stone armor, but he managed to land right back where he stood on Pebble's shoulder once the armor finished deploying.
"What would happen if I didn't jump?" Puffy eye'd Pebble's armor and shuddered.
"Good point, I have no idea." Pebble replied.
Larry looked at his knight with wide eyes, "You mean that could have possibly killed him?"
"I'm saying that I really don't know." Pebble said honestly.
"Oh god." Larry looked forward with a thousand yard stare, "What have I gotten myself into."
"Second thoughts?" Puffy called down to Larry.
Larry snapped right back to his old self, "Nope, just caught off guard slightly. Please no ally killing, sir." He looked at Pebble with innocence.
"No, that's fair. Role playing games don't normally have friendly fire. I wasn't thinking." Pebble replied and was met with a blank stare from Larry, "Whatever, let's just get going!" Pebble shook his head and began running down the hall. Larry grunted and began running after him.
Pebble shot down the hallway at a shocking pace considering all the armor that surrounded him. Larry was struggling to keep up, but he kept trying his best. His legs swung faster and faster as he found new strength and desire to catch up with his knight, but once Pebble activated his sprint ability, he was left in the dust.
"How can one move so fast? Reeki, your chosen one is quite interesting indeed." Larry smiled and pushed forward.
—
"Hey, Reeki." Glurt sat cross legged at the chalice, "Who's this Larry guy?"
"WHAT'S FUNNY IS, I REALLY DON'T KNOW!" Reeki shrugged and all the gods chuckled.
"Well he certainly seems to hold you in high regards Mountain God." Aphrodite said.
The Throne Holder stayed quiet, but Artia noticed that he was smiling at Reeki's recognition.
"What happened to you, Reeki?" Artia asked and The Throne Holder nearly jumped in response. Artia noted his odd reaction, but didn't turn to look his way.
"EH, LIFE, YA KNOW?" Reeki scratched the back of his mountain head, sending a small landslide down his back, "ONE DAY, YOU'RE THE NEW HOPE, AND THE NEXT DAY, YOU'RE THE LAST DISAPPOINTMENT."
Artia's heart sank at Reeki's tone. She had no idea what happened in his past and she normally wouldn't have this type of response for another god.
'Why do I have so much sympathy for this Mountain?' Artia thought inwardly.
Aphrodite stood up, "Reeki, you've never been a disappointment. This world was ill fated for the likes of you. In my heart, you did nothing wrong." She sighed and then her eyes glazed for a moment before returning to the normal expression she had moments before.
The Throne Holder's eyes were wider than ever. He looked at Reeki, but held back his panic, "Say, Aphrodite, what do you know of Reeki's past?" He probed
Aprodite looked at the Throne Holder with a blank expression, "I know nothing. I simply used to watch the shows Reeki would host on Heaven's Cinema Network." She shrugged, but Artia noticed a sly smile betray itself on the corner of Aphrodite's lips. Artia thought the Throne Holder may have noticed as well, as his expression seemed severe and she had no idea why.
'What's happening?' She eyed Reeki cautiously and considered the god in a different light, 'What's going on with your past?' Artia's brow furrowed as she pondered on Reeki. She couldn't pinpoint where he came from, which was extremely odd considering she would be able to pass a history lesson with flying colors.
Aphrodite watched Artia's face as she mulled over the situation and Reeki's history, 'Come on now, Forest Child. I know you can piece this together.'
Artia glanced over at the Throne Holder and then back at Reeki. Her eyes glazed for a moment as Aphrodite's did early, then her eyes widened briefly before returning to normal.
Aphrodite smiled, 'Did she figure it out?' She questioned in her mind. This was exactly what she lived for. She loved the unveiling of secret information. Artia made eye contact with her and Aphrodite nodded slowly.
Artia closed her eyes for a moment and let it all sink in. She doesn't know what she's lost, but she's confirmed that there is indeed a memory hole in her mind. She's never thought about Reeki before, so she never noticed that everything she once knew about this man has been taken from her. Her heart was beating rapidly and off rhythm. She noticed that the Throne Holder was evaluating her reaction and she did her best to stifle her surprise. 'He knew, Aphrodite knew, but what about Glurt?'
Even though no one was speaking out loud at the moment, Artia, Aphrodite and the Throne Holder all simultaneously eyed Glurt. Glurt was twiddling his fingers and watching Pebble rush through the tunnels. He looked up at the other gods and looked uncomfortable.
"What?" He asked curiously.
The Throne holder and Artia relaxed their shoulders. Aphrodite's smile widened, "This is an interesting mix of gods afterall. What do you think, Reeki?"
Reeki was still watching Pebble. He was completely unaware of all the new intrigue surrounding him, "YEAH, GREAT!"
—
****Author here. Thank you for taking the time to read this far. Life has been kicking hard the last few weeks on my end. I've been bobbin' and weavin', but here's the deal. My workload has damn near tripled recently and my team has been dropping like flies… which, in turn, increases my workload even further. I've been spending more time on my personal business as well to help establish an exit. Let's be honest… I just can't keep working this job anymore. It's been leaving me drained everyday and leaving nothing left for creative endeavors or hobbies.
Long story short, I'm very sorry for the delay in chapters, but I haven't dropped Pebble. I will write when I find time, but for now, my focus is finding a replacement income.