Rowna was worn out. Elten was dangerous. Not because of the monsters, but rather because of the people. It was Elyos territory, so that was a given, and she was probably bordering on insane for being there. But she had agreed to help the Elim, who were dying in her world. But here in Elysea, they were supposedly thriving. She had come to seek their help. But it wasn't going so well.

First she was spotted by an Elyos garrison patrol and forced to temporarily abandon the mission for the sake of her own life. When she tried again several days later, she was again spotted and chased down by a lone Elyos. This was currently attempt three. She had passed one Elyos already (she had been careless…again) but either they were more oblivious to her surroundings than she was, or they didn't want to be bothered to hunt her down. She had been lucky. Her second Elyos encounter didn't quite go as well. A cleric had spotted her and cast a root spell on her. But rather than finish her off, they seemed content to let her escape, run a bit farther, and then root her again. And again. She had tried to fight back, but her own songweaver arsenal was unable to damage them. She was forced into playing a game of cat and mouse until they got bored. She hoped they would get bored, and weren't just stalling until a larger group could come and take her out. Thankfully they did get bored, and let her escape rather than finishing her off.

She had run quite a long way and was now stuck here, waiting for yet another garrison patrol to move past so she could continue with her mission. Unfortunately for her, they weren't so much as patrolling as seemingly wandering aimlessly back in forth in the same area. The area she needed to cross. This had been going on far too long for her liking, and she was debating simply casting protective ode and then making a mad dash past them. She had crept out of her hiding place to get a closer look to determine if this plan was feasible when she caught sight of something that hadn't been there before.

It was another Elyos; seemingly a traveler rather than reinforcements for the garrison patrol. She wasn't able to get much of a look at the newcomer before said new arrival turned and looked at her.

SHOOT. Rowna immediately turned to run, but there wasn't really anywhere to run except past the garrison patrol one way, or the Elyos that had spotted her the other way. Seeing as either of those options would likely lead to all five Elyos attacking, she went with plan B and raced back to her hiding spot.

It wasn't really that great a hiding spot; she was really just crouched down under some abundantly leafy fern. But as it was rather difficult to see out past all the leaves, she hoped it would be difficult for the Elyos to spot her. Heart pounding, she waited for what was to come. It wasn't long before footsteps approached. They wandered briefly around the area before stopping in front of her plant. Rowna chanced a glance up through the leaves.

It was the traveling Elyos that had spotted her. Closer up, Rowna could see that they were female, with long purple hair. Having discovered Rowna's hiding spot, the Elyos gave a small wave. Not really sure what else to do in this situation, Rowna timidly waved back.

"I thought I saw someone over here," the Elyos said. Her tone was hard to decipher.

"You have good eyes," Rowna responded. Flattery couldn't hurt. And she had certainly been much more aware of her surroundings than that lazy garrison patrol had been, so it wasn't a false compliment either. Seeing as she had already been spotted, Rowna careful moved out of her hiding spot and into a standing position. It would be much easier to maneuver that way if it came to a fight.

Without the leaves blocking her vision, she could see that there was another Elyos here in addition to the one that had spoken to her. Judging by the surfrider they were standing on, this one was not part of the garrison patrol either. Were these two friends traveling together then?

The one atop the surfrider looked briefly startled to see her. Had they assumed she was an Elyos or something? They shot a questioning glance at their purple haired companion, who simply shrugged. They took another briefly look at her before teleporting away, surfrider and all.

Rowna felt her heart sink. They had gone to get reinforcements, surely. Her only options at this point were fight, flee, or wait and see what happens. She sized up the Elyos in front of her. They appeared older than her, and were certainly better prepared for combat if their armor was anything to go by. Their armor was a beautiful matching set, while Rowna's own was a hodge podge of whatever random pieces she was able to get her hands on. Standing there under the Elyos's gaze, she felt horribly embarrassed by it. Fighting was out of the question then, except as a last resort.

Could she flee then? If she was going to take this option, it would be best to do it before the reinforcements arrived. But if the Elyos attacked her to prevent escape, that would surely alert the garrison patrol as well. Speaking of which, why hadn't they come up here already? Surely it would have been easier to use them as backup than whoever the rider had gone to fetch?

Maybe…they weren't going to kill her?

Cautiously, Rowna began to walk away in the opposite direction, careful to keep her eyes on the lone Elyos in case they decided to attack. They kept their gaze on her, but made no move to stop her either. Rowna had gotten far away enough in this manner that the Elyos was almost out of sight when they spoke:

"Be careful out there."

Was that a warning? Advice? A threat? Too exhausted and stressed to bother trying to decipher the meaning behind the words, Rowna simply responded tiredly. "I'm trying. It's been difficult."

The Elyos nodded and made a mumbling noise that sounded like affirmation, before sitting themselves down, presumably to wait for their companion to return. They pulled out a book from their bags, and proceeded to ignore her altogether.

Rowna didn't need a second chance. She kept walking until the Elyos was out of site, then bolted. She made a rather long detour in case her friend actually had gone for reinforcements, but ultimately was able to continue on her quest without any further mishaps.

Rowna succeeded in helping Elim. As well as retrieving the lost soul of an Asmodian deava, among other things. But that, my friends, is another story.