A harrowing excursion

[glume]

Day was barely breaking over the golden Mantora plains, the full moon still clinging on to the edge of the night. Rozne always took the full moon as a good sign, and its lingering presence urged her onward over that last grassy hill. She had been tracking a Cainos she spotted a few days back, who seemed to be hunting the very same mark she was after. The worst part was he got to it before she did. The nerve! She hadn't even intended to kill the beast, at least not yet. Still, that wasn't enough to keep her interest on him as much as the shiny little trinket he kept around his finger. After he had slain the tiny monster they were both after, he did something to that ring, and somehow managed to store the remains of his kill... somewhere. She didn't get a particularly great look at what had happened, but she knew she'd never seen anything like it. That was why she followed him. That last hill took a bit out of her, though... how did he manage to climb it with such little effort?

As she peered over the tall, dry grasses at the top, Rozne saw another thing she had never seen before. At least... not up close. It was a large, metallic structure, about the size of the houses she'd seen around the outskirts of Newport. Rust has eaten its way through a large portion of the once-gleaming exterior, but there was evidence of patchwork here and there. Dull lights languidly flashed on and off around its edges, seemingly without pattern. The brightest light came from the bottom center, where she saw the vague silhouette of her newest prey slinking out of sight. Most of her better instincts told her to stay away, but she had to know what else that bit of jewelry could do. She took a moment to smear a bit of reddish powder over the symbol etched at the base of her horn. This kind of dumb move would take all the luck she could get.

With a deep breath she stole quickly over to the darkest side of the oddly-shaped metallic hunk, and pressed as flat against it as she could. Hugging the wall, she peeked into the glowing doorway to see the if the coast was clear. The room inside looked much like what she had expected from the interior of a house, despite the unusual materials they were made of. The best part was she spotted the Cainos just before he entered a doorway across the room. She slowly tiptoed towards an alternate doorway, hoping to find a decent hiding place. With a touch, the door quietly slid to the side and revealed a small closet. Perfect. She crawled inside, still fighting the gnawing notion that this was all a series of bad ideas, and slid the door partially shut. Now it was all a matter of time, and if there was anything Rozne was good at, it was waiting for the right moment to make a move.

There was a nudging on Rozne's foot, startling her into consciousness. She scrambled up from her cramped position in the closet, blinking like mad to clear the blur from her eyes. How had she fallen asleep? She clumsily bolted to the other side of the room, eying the hazy source of her nudging. Her mark, that dastardly Cainos, materialized before her as though she was still asleep. He laughed when he saw the poor Kannar's wide-eyed expression, and continued to grab a shiny garment from the closet she had occupied. Rozne stood there in shock, still in a defensive stance that, surprisingly, didn't even seem to faze the red-furred Cainos.

"y'know," He said casually as he began to gather a few more garments, "I had debated weather to wake you up earlier, but..." He nodded to the window behind Rozne "I thought it'd be more fun this way"

Rozne turned slowly toward the window, and saw the night sky, covered in stars. But wait... something wasn't right. There had never been that many stars... and what was that big round thing in the distance? She stood there slack-jawed as she realized what had happened to her. She hadn't invaded someones rusty old shack, she had stumbled into someones rusty old spacecraft. It couldn't have been any normal sleep she had fallen into, but a stasis of some sort. Who knows how much time had passed. A hand fell heavy on her shoulder, to match the heavy feeling of despair that suddenly loomed over her, and the Cainos leaned close and whispered "That'll make ya think twice about tresspassin' again, wont it?"

The burly Cainos burst into laughter again, which surprisingly eased Rozne back into reality. She turned to him and raised an eyebrow. A question had barely formed on her lips before the brusk man interrupted. "Ya want'a know what you've gotten yourself into, then? Ha! I saw ya eyeballing my ring" his hand flew up and she faintly caught a glimpse of the glimmering bauble before he gestured to his large pointed ears, "Oh I heard your Ooh's and Ahh's, so don't go tryin' to deny it! I figured a feral critter like yourself could use some real culture!" This time Rozne snorted with laughter. The situation had suddenly turned from dire to absurd... how was the man not mauling her for invading his territory and planning to abscond with his ring? She placed a hand jauntily on her hip and opened her mouth to speak once again, and once again she was interrupted. "Arplakoon!" He pointed out the window, "and we're going in fast! My name's Themus, by the way." and with that he grew silent, looking out the window with glee, much like an anxious child.

"...Im Rozne," she finally managed to blurt out, but he didn't seem to be listening anymore. She couldn't decide if the wild look in his eye was one of excitement, or something she should be weary of, so she opted for the latter. She eased out of Themus' grasp and sat in a cushy chair-thing, ill at ease as she took in the spectacle of the quickly approaching planet...

[Ibur]

"Day in, day out -- it's all the same!" grumbled a paper dragon as yet another group of mortals departed from the Altar of Arplakoon. His spiny body seemed to quake with fury. "They don't even treat us with respect anymore! Two thousand years ago, it was all "please" and "sir" and "if you don't mind". Now, back in my galaxy, the mortals felt honored to meet with the guardians!" The dragon, Kagairo, spun around to face a brightly-painted blue lizard statue. "Koon, when is Gareth going to get back? I don't like the readings we've been getting from Kraderag's activity."

Koon chuckled with mirth, his deep voice resonating about the area. Pointedly, he asked, "Why don't you go look for him yourself? You can go into the Fantastica world, not me."

"Besides," added Sapphire, a partly transparent bird statue of the same color as her namesake gem, "you never liked Kraderag. Gareth probably wouldn't consider it news that you find him suspicious."

Kagairo commenced grumbling to himself, hardly audible even to the other members of the Order. He shuffled to the back of the Altar, out of sight from anyone who approached the Altar of Arplakoon, as was customary when he was about to have a temper tantrum. Nobody wanted Kagairo even remotely close to a mortal when he had a breakdown of some sort, and the consequences for injuring a mortal were enough to make even the ill-tempered dragon obey. There was a brief moment of silence, save for the aforementioned mumbling of Kagairo, but then a spaceship landed a little ways away from the Altar of Arplakoon, and all of the members of the Order knew instinctively that everyone on board that ship would want a Chrono Ring. Most Kylians didn't approach the Order to ask questions about the galaxy anymore, likely because the most pressing questions that the galaxy could be concerned with had already been answered by someone in the past and documented everywhere on the internet.

"Here we go again!" shouted Koon cheerfully. There was a loud and very exaggerated groan of disgust from the back of the Altar, which was met with a few chuckles from the white armadillo statue, Pla.

"You'd think he'd have gotten used to this after a few thousand years of living with us," said Pla. "I guess he still needs some time to adjust."

[glume]

Several ships loomed on the quickly forming horizon, each in better shape than the rust-bucket the two of them had been traveling in on. Themus would occasionally point at one offhandedly and mumble something, but Rozne's attention had been on the planets surface. She expected to see the land slowly come into focus, but the closer they got the more the view was obscured. Thick, voluminous clouds surrounded the area, and soon they were enveloped in the billowing murk. Worried, Rozne asked "Shouldn't you get busy landing this thing?"

Themus simply shrugged, "Autopilot." and continued his gawking out the window.

Then, as if by cue, the clouds began to part. She began to make out forms in the distance, a few other ships and a landmark of some sort. The nature of the landmark was not yet obvious to her, but the importance of it was. Nothing else was around as far as she could see, and all the other ships had gathered in close. More than that, the place simply felt significant to her for some reason. The young Kannar had a swarm of questions, but she didn't want to let on how full of wonder the whole scene had made her. Nor did she want to let on how scared she was at being in such a vastly unfamiliar territory. You shouldn't show your enemy your weakness... even if they did act relatively harmless.

Thunk.

With a low deep sigh, and the sound of a few dishes rattling, the home-like interior settled into place. The ship had landed. Themus wasted no time gathering himself up and piling out the door, babbling something or other as he went. Rozne approached the exit with a bit more caution, however. Taking a step out she noticed how different the ground felt beneath her feet. It certainly looked similar, but there was something eerie about it. It was almost cold. Must be due to the thick mists, she decided, but as she looked upwards she discovered the mists above her had vanished. Or... had it even been there in the first place? It must have been a trick of the eye, as her Cainos companion had walked off into the foggy distance. Perhaps it was just thicker closer to the ground. She quickly ran next to him amongst a group of magnificent statues, catching up just in time to hear the end of his speech.

"...so you see, Oh Wise and All-Knowing Order, THAT is why I think ye should help out my new friend 'ere." He gestured to Rozne offhandedly, seemingly talking to himself. She stared at him with a raised brow. That was just her luck, getting accidentally kidnapped by a loon. Themus nudged her hard in the rib, "Don't just stand there all impolite. Tell 'em you want a Chrono Ring"

"I... do?" Rozne squinted and peered about, still failing to see who the Cainos could possibly be talking to...

[Ibur]

It wasn't every day that somebody asked them to help somebody else. As such, some members of the Order had found Themus' speech to be intriguing simply because of that, but the wonder they felt was rendered obsolete when they saw that Themus' friend was a kannar. No wonder she had somebody asking for their help on her behalf -- most kannars didn't even know the Order of Arplakoon existed, much less that they could create Chrono Rings (or even what a Chrono Ring was). There was a silence from the group of statues, as if they were all anxiously looking at one another and silently musing over who had to be the one to explain what was going on to the clueless kannar. Apparently, Mikasiur nominated himself, for the large wooden dragon slid in front of the Altar of Arplakoon, eclipsing the other members. He turned himself, seemingly staring right at Rozne with the vicious snarl etched onto his brown face.

"Hey, how're you doing?" he cheerfully asked. His lighthearted voice was likely a stark contrast to his ferocious-looking appearance. "Welcome to Arplakoon, Miss... Um... Er... No, don't tell me, it begins with an F..."

"Rozne," snidely supplied Pla.

"Right, Rozne! A beautiful name for a beautiful girl! We are the Order of Arplakoon, the guardians of the galaxy! Now, you might be overwhelmed right now, and not just because of how dashingly handsome I am, but I'll make this really easy for you: we're statues that can talk. We're gods, basically. We can create and destroy, but we mostly create Chrono Rings nowadays. Chrono Rings are..." Mikasiur faltered, remembering that he couldn't fall back on technological explanations for what Chrono Rings were -- this kannar probably didn't even fully understand the spaceship that had brought her here. He coughed. "...little objects that let you do a variety of things, like... make fire. Just by thinking it. As long as you wear a Chrono Ring, you can do those sorts of things. Interested in having one? They also come free with a few other items, like no less than two weapons! Again, free! Totally free! You can also look upon me for free. That's fine, too."

[glume]

Themus couldn't help but laugh as the poor Kannar stood agape at the spectacle in front of her. He couldn't imagine how her mind would process coming face to face with a deity, let alone the fact that they were about to just hand over what was probably the most significant item she had ever seen. He rather enjoyed the idea of throwing a wrench of chaos into her naive little existence. He thought it would make her life rather interesting back home, and he found pleasure in causing that sort of mischief, be it good or bad.

Rozne wasn't quite as dumbfounded as Themus would have hoped, though. Her people were a very spiritual lot. Everything in nature had its own spirit, its own divine force, so it made perfect sense to her that a god could inhabit a statue. She didn't assume it to be any sort of trickery, either. The place had felt special when they got there, that much was obvious. One talking statue even knew her name. She wasn't even sure that her new traveling companion could remember as much. To her, a talking group of statues was far easier to process than what a higher power would possibly want to waste their time with her for. But then again, it would be arrogant of her to try to understand the will of a god.

"I would be honored by any gifts you would see fit to bestow upon me," She said, finally catching herself. Then with a bowed head she added, "Though if you are in fact gods, I would like to know how I can pay you tribute for these gifts."

Themus rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "Doncha know what free means, lass? They're GODS, for cripes sake! I doubt they'd want anything you'd have to offer, anyhow."

Rozne frowned. "Maybe not, but its a matter of principal." She turned back towards the wooden dragon with another respectful bow and continued, "As I was saying, I will humbly accept your free items. I would be foolish to turn down such an offer! However, I would be failing my people's customs if I did not offer something in return. Perhaps some other task that you might not want to busy yourself with? Orrr... a sacrifice of some sort? I am rather ignorant to the ways of the heavens, but I always thought that one should try to give thanks when being smiled down upon."

The old Canois broke into laughter once again, doubling over from the effort. The laughter turned into pitiful wheezes and sighs as he realized he was holding up the conversation. He cleared his throat and slowly backed away from the spotlight, pretending to be suddenly interested in something else entirely.

[Ibur]

"It's free," repeated Mikasiur mechanically -- this wasn't the first time somebody had insisted on repaying them for their "services". He sighed. "Trust me, the gesture is nice and all, but we couldn't take something from mortals in good conscience. I mean, you guys can't, like, just conjure up stuff whenever you want, and you've got limited time. You guys are dead in the blink of an eye. Live your life while you can, honey."

A small ring appeared in front of Rozne's face. It hovered in the air, quivering from time to time as it slowly spun around, as if to give the kannar a good look at the piece of technology from every angle. The ring's tiny lights flashed repeatedly, and it seemed like it was pulsing with some kind of otherworldly energy. In fact, it technically was, as the Chrono Ring had already begun to absorb some of the excess Chrono surrounding the Altar of Arplakoon. In any case, the ring remained suspended in midair, waiting for its new owner to take it.


Rozne got a Chrono Ring!


Apps:
[ul]
[li]Level 1 Monster Catcher: Tames and holds up to three monsters inside a Chrono Ring. It can be upgraded to hold more monsters.

[/li][li]"Black Hole" Inventory: Stores items in a bottomless inventory.

[/li][li]Map Display: Displays a holographic map of whatever area the user is currently on. This map can be zoomed in and even has bits of information about relevant areas in the current zone.

[/li][li]SOS: Sends a distress signal to the nearest "haven point" when the user is critically injured or near death, or when activated manually. The haven point will then use the signal's coordinates to dispatch an emergency ambulance to the person in danger.
[/li][/ul]

[b]SPELLS[/b]

[b]Level 1 Fireball:[/b] [i]Conjures up a flame to singe the enemy. Element: Fire. Attack: 1[/i]

[b]Level 1 Rockbarrage:[/b] [i]Summons a boulder to crush the enemy. Element: Earth. Attack: 1[/i]

[b]Level 1 Waterjet:[/b] [i]Fires a stream of water to drown the enemy. Element: Water. Attack: 1[/i]

[b]Level 1 Windcutter:[/b] [i]Sends a gust of wind to knock the enemy over. Element: Air. Attack: 1[/i]


[b]ITEMS[/b]

[b]Healer:[/b] [i]Restores a Chrono Ring force field or a monster's energy by just a little bit. Two uses.[/i] Quantity: 3

[b]Bait:[/b] [i]Draws more monsters closer when placed on the ground. One use.[/i] Quantity: 1

[b]Repellent:[/b] [i]Drives monsters away when sprayed on something or someone. One use.[/i] Quantity: 1


"Isn't it nifty?" Mikasiur eagerly asked, impatient to see Rozne try it out. He didn't get to create Chrono Rings all too often. The visiting mortals usually wanted Ar, Pla or Koon to create their Chrono Ring, not him. "And you can pick two of these weapons!"

At his words, a group of weapons abruptly materialized and fell to the ground with a loud clatter. The pile consisted of a plastic sword, a cheap wooden staff, a leather pair of gloves with spikes on their knuckles, a raggedy-looking bow with a quiver of arrows, and a rusted pistol. The Order's members quietly snickered. Seeing visitors' reactions to the cheap weapons they were offered was usually worth a good laugh. After all, they usually expected something grand and magical, especially after they were enraptured by the greatness that was the Chrono Ring. They never anticipated something that looked like it was made in a five-year-old's arts and crafts class.

[glume]

Rozne watched intently as the tiny trinket spun about lazily in the air in front of her. The multitude of blinking lights had her mesmerized for quite some time, but one triggered a memory that had snapped her back to reality. This was the reason she had ended up on this unexpected adventure. The mystical object of a stranger, something that was far more than it had seemed. Why did Themus so eagerly help her attain something that was so obviously special? What kind of debt would she end up owing him back? Perhaps he didnt want anything in return. After all, the gods before her refused any sort of compensation. This wasn't something that she was used to, so she wasn't quite sure how best to respond.

She finally raised her left hand up towards the ring, and it effortlessly found its way around her index finger. The lights gave one final dance before growing still. A sense of comfort washed over her, as though she just found something that had been long-lost. Mikasiur asked a question, but the Kannar only nodded in response. She wasn't sure what he asked but she was sure she agreed. Her new toy, which was gently pulsating around her finger, occasionally emitting a faint hum or whir, still held her attention.

Wait... did he just say weapons?

A pile of equipment rattled to the ground in front of her. Rozne's main experience with weapons had mostly been watching others use them. She was handy with a sling, and could defend herself hand-to-hand if need be, but in the past it had been impractical to carry around anything larger or more dangerous. Now with her new gift, things might be a bit different. Her head tilted slightly and her brow furrowed. This would require some thought. Themus' voice could be heard in the background, billowing with laughter. Why did he find this all so amusing?

"Well," she she said, bringing her gaze towards the now-chuckling statues, "I do fancy the look of that bow. Might do with a bit of polishing though. And... those spiky gloves could only improve my chances in a scuffle." The Kannar tried her best to look serious as the various sources of laughter around her slowly snuffed themselves out, and bent down to gather the items from the pile. "This is all very generous of you." she added, trying not to make her nervousness too obvious. There was still a lingering feeling that she was in the middle of some sort of joke that she would never quite understand.

[Ibur]

Given that Rozne was a kannar, it wasn't too surprising that she didn't even appear to consider the gun. The bow and arrows were an easy choice -- everyone saw that one coming. However, a few of the members of the Order were a little surprised to see her pick the spiked gloves over the sword. Maybe her tribe didn't use swords and she forsook it as an unfamiliar "thing" instead of a plausible weapon. Whatever the case, she'd made her choice.


[b]Level 1 Amateur Knuckles:[/b] [i]Leather gloves with small spikes on the knuckles. These needles seem brittle. Attack: 1[/i]

[b]Level 1 Amateur Bow:[/b] [i]A none-too-sturdy bow with a quiver full of arrows included. It doesn't look like it'll be good for any accurate shots. Attack: 1[/i]


"Yeah, those are basically the best of the lot," said Mikasiur. "But, uh, pro-tip: I'd rely on the spells from the Chrono Ring more than the weapons. Those might actually be able to do something."

"Anyways," interrupted Pla. "Do you see that portal right there, next to the other wooden dragon?"

"My name is Lavitre," grumbled the dragon the armadillo had indicated. As if reacting to his words, the glowing purple-and-white light next to him started to grow in intensity, shooting off the occasional dark blue spark. Though the portal was large enough for any person, Mikasiur's "twin" dwarfed it in size.

Disregarding Lavitre's insistence on being addressed by name, Pla continued. "You can enter that portal and it'll take you somewhere. Where, who knows? Sometimes you end up on Nicta, other times you end up on Drio. The portal used to go to Larot III, but since those portals started closing, our portal just takes you somewhere random now."

Mikasiur spun around to face the white armadillo. He growled, "You're going to confuse her! Do you think kannar tribes even know what portals are?"

Pla snorted with contempt for the wooden dragon's unconditional defending of Rozne, however condescending the defense was. "She can learn through experience. Run along, now, Rozne. Good luck on whatever it is you hope to achieve."

[glume]

With a snicker, Rozne told her new wooden advocate, "You're right, I don't know exactly what a portal is, but that explanation was clear enough. I think. I'm guessing its much like that junk pile I rode in on. Hop in, wish for the best, and before you know it you're somewhere else." She paused for a second, rubbing her chin. "Well, actually... how dangerous is it? I am newly equipped, but I'd hate to step into a situation I didn't know how to handle. And... would I be able to get back, or... is it a one way trip?"

A steady clanking noise momentarily caught Rozne's attention as she was about to continue her inquiries. Behind her, through the mists, she could barely make out the silhouette of Themus, hammering away at the softly blinking hunk of metal they arrived in. It appeared as though a few pieces had fallen off when they landed. She shuddered at the thought of having to set foot in that thing once again. The uncertainty of the flickering portal in the distance suddenly seemed a little friendlier to her. If she was lucky, which she often was, it could be just the way she needed to get away from her unintentional captor, debt free. It was one thing to want to pay back for a favor that you actually desired, but it was a whole different scenario to owe for something you didn't agree to in the first place.

She slowly approached the shimmering ball of light, and pushed her hand toward it. The edges of her fingers blurred and she felt a peculiar force pulling at her. She turned around to see if she could catch any last minute advice before making that final step, but before she knew it the portals force began to pull her in, surrounding her with near-blinding light. She didn't know what would await her on the other side, or if she would even make the trip in one piece.