It is now that we join Paagrio, as he is pacing the silvery hallway of Einhasad's palace, his hands folded behind his back. Heavy armor adorned his body, but he moved as if it were nothing more than cotton. The floors began to shake beneath him, and he paused to sigh.
"You can come out now Maphr." He said, his voice heavy. The red haired girl wearing the net cape that spoke with Sharmin in the Abyss peeked out from behind a pillar, a grin upon her face.
"Hello big brother!" she said happily, twirling once and making her ruffled skirt flare out around her. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes." he kneeled so her could stare directly into his sister's earth-brown eyes. "Did you meddle in the affairs of mortals?" he asked straightforwardly. Paagrio was not known to be a conversationalist, and when he wished to know something, he would ask first thing. Maphr stared at him, her eyes large and innocent.
"What are you talking about, big brother?" she asked, her voice innocent enough to match her expression. Paagrio growled in frustration and stood, staring down his nose at her.
"Don't play around Maphr, did you or did you not replenish the barren earth you'd given father for the humans in that human girl?" he demanded, his voice rough. The playful gleam in Maphr's eyes faded and she shrunk down in the shadow of her brother.
"I only acted as you did." She whined, pulling her cape up around her. "I thought it was part of the game."
"You little FOOL!" Paagrio exploded, the pillars rumbling with the force of his shout. "This is not one of the foolish games you participate in with our siblings; this is in attempts to end them!" He did not worry about revealing any pieces of his plan to Maphr, as she did not speak with Shilen or Sayha. She did not understand the destruction the games her family played with the mortals, as she thought they were just fun escapes from the monotony of eternal life. Large tears welled up in her eyes and dripped down her cheeks, her lip quivering at the rage her brother displayed. Paagrio sighed in exasperation and turned away from her, disliking seeing his sister cry. "Find other things to do to amuse you, Maphr, and remain free of the games they play." He said wearily, his voice tired.
"But brother, if there are no games to play, what do we do with our time?" Maphr asked honestly, sniffling. Paagrio turned his head to face her quickly, his dreadlocks whipping around and smacking his shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak, when the long, brightly lit silver corridor behind them elongated and retracted, the glowing figure of their mother appearing before them. Maphr shielded her eyes against the glory that was Einhasad, her eyes more accustomed to dimmer light, as her home was within the ground. Paagrio faced her fearlessly, and bowed in respect.
"Sixty years have passed since their banishment and now their spawn returns." She said in a booming voice. "Remain far from Eva, as I am preparing to remove the threats today." With this cryptic and confusing statement, Einhasad disappeared as quickly as she had appeared, leaving Maphr and Paagrio to stare in awe. The expressions they wore were grim, as they knew of what their mother spoke of. Paagrio sighed and called forth his flame to bring him back to his domain. Something far more serious than the pathetic games his family played were going to fall into place very soon, and he did not look forward to it.
The next morning dawned bright and sunny. Sharmin winced and covered her eyes with her arm, light streaming in through the slatted shutters and hitting her right in the face. She groaned and rolled over, trying to return to sleep. She snuggled down under the covers and sighed contentedly, drifting off.
"Hey Leon, wake up!" Narlafayn exclaimed, bursting in through the door. Sharmin shot up like a rocket, her heart pounding from surprise. Narlafayn stared at her in shock, her mouth falling open.
"Are we ready to go yet?" Vuylay asked, peering around Narlafayn's shoulder. Her mouth fell open too.
"Oh I see…" Narlafayn said slyly with a grin to match. Sharmin blinked in confusion for a moment before she realized she was in Leon's bed. Her face turned red for a moment.
"It's not like that!" Sharmin exclaimed, scooting out of bed.
"Uh huh. You just so happened to teleport into his bed, huh? Where is he by the way?" Narlafayn quipped, glancing about the small room.
"Narla, please. This is LEON we're talking about." Vuylay stated icily, rolling her eyes. "As if anything indecent would ever happen to him. They were probably hanging out last night and she fell asleep while talking to him, so, being the gentleman, he put her in his bed and slept on the floor." This time Sharmin's own mouth fell open, as that was exactly what had transpired the night before. She couldn't remember falling asleep though…
"I hate it when you're right." Narlafayn grumbled, turning and walking out the door. "Sharmin, get dressed! We're going to Heine!"
"Good morning everyone!" Leon said cheerfully as the group made their way groggily towards the Gatekeeper. He stood next to her, his armor freshly polished and his hair clean, a large grin on his face.
"Are you sure nothing happened between them last night? He's in an awfully good mood." Narlafayn whispered to Vuylay, who made an aggravated noise.
"Oh that's nuthin, that's just how he gets when he doesn't sleep for four days." Junk Pixie stated happily. Everyone halted in their trek towards the Gatekeeper as Leon put his hands on his hips and began laughing loudly at absolutely nothing.
"That's it, this Paladin is defective. I demand a refund." Terebel said, scooting away. Narlafayn grabbed his arm to prevent him from moving any farther away, and dragged him to the Gatekeeper.
"Let's just go." She mumbled, giving up on keeping tabs on Leon's health. Leon's laughter continued through the Gatekeeper's spell, and faded as Sharmin fell through the black vortex. She squinted as the pinpoint of light shone ahead of her again, her eyes widening as she saw the blonde girl huddled against the ottoman, hugging her knees. She looked up at Sharmin, tears brimming in her aqua blue eyes.
"Help me." She pleaded, reaching a hand out. Entranced, Sharmin reached out to her, urging herself through the vortex faster, to take her hand. Her eyes widened in shock and she gasped as she actually touched flesh. Her body jerked, and the suction in the void changed, pulling her forward instead of down. The girl finally released her hand, and Sharmin tumbled precariously from the vortex.
"OH MY GOD I'M DYING." A voice suddenly groaned from beneath her as the world returned. Sharmin pushed herself to her knees, holding her head, trying to get the world to stop spinning. "Watch where you're falling you fat cow." The voice said again, brushing off her sleeves. "Not all of us wear armor, so that crap hurts."
"I'm sorry…" Sharmin began and then paused, the voice striking familiarity in her. She opened her eyes and stared, the pink head of Komugi lowered to inspect a tear in her skirt.
"Oh man, I just bought this too…" she grumbled, fingering it. "All because this cow decided to land on sweet little me… I'm not a landing pad you know…"
"KOMUGI!" Sharmin squealed, latching onto her younger sister in a fierce hug and bowling her over. Komugi let out a surprised noise as her back hit the sand they were seated in.
"Sh…Sharmin?" Komugi asked, uncertain. Sharmin released her sister long enough to stare at her, happy tears rolling down her face. "Oh my God what happened to you? You look older." She observed, her voice giving away her surprise. Sharmin didn't answer, and instead hugged her sister again.
"Where have you been? I've been searching for you since we were separated." Sharmin sobbed, twirling a lock of Komugi's hair around her finger. She never thought she'd be so grateful to see her rose colored locks as she was at that moment.
"Oh here and there…" Komugi began. "It's a long story though…" Sharmin freed her sister from her death hug to let her sit back up. She was just about to question where it was she'd gone, when suddenly there was surprised yelling, and several bodies appeared in the air and landed around them in the sand. She and Komugi blinked at them in surprise. "You brought company." Komugi observed, standing. "Sorry I haven't cleaned up. You know how it is; the ocean just keeps bringing the sand in." Sharmin then noticed that they weren't in Heine, but had landed on a large sandy beach. Large silvery pillars stood in the water ahead of her, and she blinked at them curiously.
"This doesn't look like Heine… Unless they've remodeled…" Narlafayn stated, pushing herself to her feet. She wriggled, trying to get the sand out of her gaiters.
"GATORS!" Junk Pixie suddenly exclaimed, pulling out her Tarbar and racing after a giant crocodile known as a Nos. The Nos were over sixteen feet tall, stood on two legs, and wore heavy bone armor. Most smart travelers hesitated to approach them, as they could throw kunai with deadly accuracy. This Nos, however, turned and fled in fear the instant he laid eyes on Junk Pixie.
"Did we get the dense Gatekeeper or something? This is definitely not Heine." Vuylay asked as she stood. Next to her, Terebel coughed, trying to get the sand out of his throat. "Oh hey, Komugi lives." She stated, unimpressed.
"Nice to see you too." Komugi said back, deadpan. A Dark Elf and a human girl with short brown hair came over a hill behind Komugi, staring at the group in surprise. Next to the human stood a large white cat walking on two legs, dressed in a brown coat and hat.
"Well, we have a nice crowd to help us now. Where did you find them, Komugi?" the Dark Elf stated, walking calmly after them. Komugi frowned and opened her mouth, but before any sound came out, something dropped heavily into the ocean, causing a large splash. The group stared in silence as Leon pulled himself from the ocean, water pouring from his armor.
"That's a good way to wake up." He said lightly, pulling a fish from his breastplate. "Where are we?"
"Outside of the Garden of Eva." The human girl with the cat said, smiling. "My name is Melissan, and this is Valimos and Komugi. We were about to go explore the Garden, would you like to join us?" her voice was soft, and she smiled warmly.
"Garden of Eva? What the heck are we doing here?" Narlafayn asked, her voice incredulous. "Is there even a dimensional spell that brings people here?"
"Not that I know of, what happened in there?" Terebel wondered himself, digging in the sand for his dual swords. Junk Pixie chased the Nos across the landscape behind him, waving her Tarbar.
"There was a girl…in the vortex." Sharmin spoke up. Seven pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. "She asked for help and I took her hand…" When the others continued to stare at her in shock, she added, "Didn't you guys see her too?" Four heads shook in unison, and a cold feeling settled throughout Sharmin's body. Junk Pixie had caught up to the Nos behind them, and was happily beating on him with her axe. Melissan's cat stood next to her, swiping with his paws, trying to help.
"Well now what, it's at least a full day's travel to Heine from here." Narlafayn asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"We continue onward." Leon stated maturely. "Something obviously called us here for a reason, and it's our duty to see who it was and why."
"This is great! We'll whiz right through the Garden at this rate." Valimos stated in a business-like manner, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "But if you get any treasure off of the guardian beasts in there, it goes to me, got it?"
"Not if I get it first." Junk Pixie stated, matter-of-fact. She was busy trying to stuff a large club head and several pieces of heavy adamantine into her pack unsuccessfully.
"Well you WON'T get it first then, will you." Valimos said coldly, glaring at her.
"Now now…" Melissan interjected, holding her hands up. "It's not fair to demand such things from someone if they're the one who kills the monster." She said with a smile.
"Shut up, human." Valimos growled.
"Alright, ENOUGH." Komugi finally shouted, holding her hands out. "This is nutty enough as it is. Valimos, shut up. Leon, you're insane, but if your idea gets us moving, then we'll go along with it. The rest of you, either go away or start walking, I'm tired of just standing here staring at everyone like a dumbass!" Komugi seethed, her fists balling at her sides.
"You haven't changed a bit." Sharmin said happily, earning a glare from her sister.
Komugi and Vuylay performed a spell upon the group that allowed them hold their breath longer than they would normally, and they dove into the ocean. The pillars that Sharmin had seen led the way down to a temple entrance about twenty feet below the ocean's surface. Sharmin swam behind Valimos and Terebel, Leon taking the lead and inspecting the inside of the Garden. He motioned them all through, finding it safe to advance. The inside of the Garden was lit by a glow that would brighten and dim slowly, its source unknown. Sharmin gazed around her, confused, as the inside of the Garden seemed to only be a stone-carved room. Three jellyfish swam about, content. Unable to resist, Junk Pixie began pounding on one of them with enthusiasm, moving easily even though she was out of her natural element. She pouted in disappointment when it had no harvestable body parts.
Komugi tapped Sharmin on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow, leading her to a hole in the back of the room. The others had gone on ahead, and were swimming down. There were several rooms below the first, each with the floor broken away leading to another underneath it. A door sat at the bottommost floor, and the group swam through it. Sharmin paused for a moment, her hair swirling about her, to look at the door. As she pushed herself onward, to swim after them, a small pair of hands grabbed her ankle and pulled back with tremendous strength. Sharmin looked down quickly to find a blue fairy with large eyes completely colored a deep blue and a fish tail hissing at her. The fairy had sharp teeth like a cat, which made her a very frightening creature to behold. She struggled against the hold the fairy had on her, surprised at its strength. The spell was wearing off, and Sharmin's lungs began to burn for fresh air.
She whipped her shield out to stun the fairy, and then swam quickly for the door. Just as she crossed the threshold, her ankle was grabbed again, and she was pulled back. She pumped her arms wildly and kicked her free leg, but she could not shake free of the hold. She looked over her shoulder to find a group of smaller fairies clinging to her leg, hissing, their leader still stunned. Sharmin curled around and began batting at the fairies, which would swim back as quickly as she yanked them from her leg to grab on to her arms and torso, biting her skin. Dark speckles began to float behind her eyes, and she squinted, willing herself to stay conscious.
A burst of energy suddenly discharged from behind her, hitting the fairies and knocking them away, momentarily stunned. Sharmin lifted her head to find Vlad next to her, who waved and linked arms with her to tow her to the door. The leader fairy came to and halted their progress, grabbing onto Sharmin's leg once more. Leon's shield whipped out and hit her this time, stunning her once more. He grabbed Sharmin's other arm and assisted in hauling her to the surface. She broke through with a loud gasp, and coughed as the men swamp up a ramp to deposit her on the stone floor.
"That was fun." Vlad said lightly, slicking his hair back to squeegee the water from it.
"If you say so." Leon sighed, turning away from him.
"Does the over achiever not know how to have fun?" Vlad questioned in a babying tone, sheathing his swords upon his back.
"If a near death situation is your idea of a good time, then by all means, please return to the foyer and dispose of the Guardian Fairy. The rest of us will stick to more comprehensible means of entertainment that are more logical than nearly drowning while trying to dispose of an immortal creature." Leon said, helping Sharmin to her feet.
"How many of you are going to show up, anyway? What is this, a planned reunion or something?" Komugi asked, exasperated and interrupting their budding argument. Sharmin wiped the water from her eyes and looked around. In addition to those who had come with her, she saw that Vlad, Amari and a light elf Spellsinger she'd never seen before had joined them. "Good grief, this is like the Talking Island convention." She grumbled, wringing her tunic out.
"Beats me, I was just told there'd be killing." Vlad stated cheerfully. He turned to Amari. "There will be killing, right?"