8
"This heat is ridiculous," Sir Salreznar shouted in such a manner that it was as if he thought the heat itself should feel guilty for making him uncomfortable, "Hold for a minute my subjects, I must cool off."
The royalist and the three with him stopped where they were and let the group move ahead.
"Should we be stopping again, sir?" Glyndra asked worried one of the others might attack Salreznar based on Skarr's actions the day prior.
"Yes, my lord," Hurk, the scrawny, loyal, and timid servant responded, "Perhaps we should continue.
The other among the royalist, Carnell, Salreznar's historian, informant, and cartographer, just nodded.
"I don't see why we can't stop for but a few moments. I'm tired of walking on. Aren't you three tired of walking?" Salreznar asked from atop his Asura made device. It was essentially a mini throne chair that hovered slightly above the ground. All it needed was a push from Hurk every now and then. It was even equipped with a small canopy that prevented direct sun from hitting him.
"I guess, yes. My legs are a little tired," Glyndra responded, giving into thoughts of laziness and fatigue.
Bane approached the four from behind them, purposely bringing up the rear, so that he would not be forced to speak with anyone. Bane's loner tendencies becoming prevalent already.
"You guys should really keep going," Bane commented once getting to the four. "Skarr isn't the understanding type from what I can tell."
"Hurk, fetch me my Asura device," Salreznar said ignoring Bane. Hurk took off the backpack he carried, which weighed more than half his own weight in Salreznar 'necessities', and began to rummage through it.
"Where are we anyways?" Salreznar asked Carnell while looking out at the surroundings while waiting on Hurk to find the device.
The dry terrain in which Skarr's group travelled gave hardly any shelter from the scorching sun. Large rock formations were scattered throughout the terrain, being the size of dwarfed mountains, but so numerous they were like pebbles about the plain.. The two closest formations were a bigger rock structure that was running alongside their trek to the right, and another about the same size a half a mile away resembling a head of sorts. The one immediately to the right resembled the base of a large ship. Besides these two huge formations, the groups's view to the surrounding area stretched for miles and miles.
"I-I don't know sire, this is all new to me," Carnell responded with ink and paper handy, "I think we're somewhere not mapped out yet."
"Are you jotting all this down?" Salreznar asked, actually interested.
"I-I am. It is an intriguing place and much different from maps made of the area from many years ago."
"Good. If Divinity's Reach needs names for anything out here, mine will be the first to be used," Salreznar said with a quaint, arrogant smile. He began mumbling names to himself, such as 'Salreznar Wastes' and 'Salreznar Expanse'.
The area itself was actually the location of a petrified forest, at one time hundreds of years ago being part of the Maguuma Jungle, now fallen to arid atrophy by some means. The only evidence of this area once being a forest were the stone-like tree husks strewn throughout the area. The group thought the trees were the rare Stonewood material used in advanced weaponry and armors.
"Which device Sir?" Hurk asked finding more than just one Asura device, "You have a few Asura ones."
Sir Salreznar looked to his servant with the utmost disgust, "Can you not see the sweat on my forehead? Which device do you think would help he in my predicament, Hurk?"
Hurk lowered his head in disappointment with himself and rummaged through the backpack more. He found the device that Salreznar originally wanted and handed it to him.
"Much better. Next time you do not know what I mean, Glyndra here will give you something to remember." Salreznar inserted the device into his forearm as Glyndra nodded and glared at Hurk. The grin on Salreznar's face extended at the thought of Hurk getting hurt in some manner. It grew wider as the device began to cool Salreznar off from inside his body, making the heat sweltering around them a memory.
"Why are we stopped again, Salreznar?" Skarr interrupted from a couple yards away, having turned around to see the four. The rest of the Forefront ahead of Salreznar's human group stopped as well.
"Why not?" Salreznar retorted.
"Because we have to move on. Keep going." Skarr said somewhat politely despite not wanting to.
"Can we not stop?" Salreznar asked putting his head back slightly, enjoying the coolness within his body from the Asura coolant, "Just need to rest my legs and cool off."
Skarr could feel his blood begin to boil from agitation, not heat, seeing his annoyance in a hovering throne compared to the rest of his entourage. "We keep this up, we won't find a damn thing out here Salreznar, all thanks to you."
"Have you been looking?" Salreznar asked snidely with closed eyes, enjoying the cooling agent coursing through his veins. "What about the animal and his death pets you sent ahead of us? Maybe they found something"
"We all have been looking, except you and your goons," Skarr said nicely wanting only to let his anger flow in the form of words, but Skarr figured he'd stay forgiving for a little longer. It was to be a long journey. "And I sent Cravisk and his pets ahead because he is good at scouting," Skarr replied with a huff, but it ended with a slight snarl. "I ask again, why are we stopped? Everyone is stopped now thanks to you."
"I am hot. I am just trying to cool myself off, Charr. Calm your horns, we will be off again shortly." Salreznar still had yet to open his eyes and even glance at the peeved Charr that was about to walk his way.
Skarr closed his eyes and took a deep breath before covering his face with his open hand. "We are all hot Salreznar and every time you stop it pushes us farther from our goal."
"My goal currently is to stay cool, that is precisely what I am accomplishing. What have you accomplished aside from fuss at me over resting my legs?" Salreznar commented sitting on his hovering throne.
Skarr snapped at Salreznar's remark, but had enough wit to not to act physically. "Get moving or I will give you a lump on the other side of your head to match the one I gave you earlier." Skarr withdrew his Greatsword and looked to Glyndra, "Don't even try and stop me, it won't work."
Sir Salreznar finally looked up wide eyed at Skarr before narrowing his eyes. He looked at Glyndra, his guard, and realized she could only do so much to protect him against the massive Charr. "Let's move then, since the Charr is getting antsy."
The group began to move again, but this time Skarr made sure to be behind Salreznar and his gang to ensure no more stops. He so badly wanted to unleash his Blood Legion ethics on the royalist, but kept his cool. Sighing, Skarr glanced behind himself. Seeing Bane, Skarr smiled. It was time to cool his nerves and mess with a fellow Charr. He slowed his pace to let Bane catch up until they were side by side.
"Hot enough for you?" Skarr sarcastically asked studying the possible Flame Legion Charr.
"Not nearly," Bane commented back.
Skarr snorted, "Well, I would assume one of the Flame Legion would like it hotter."
Bane sternly glared over at Skarr. "I am not Flame Legion. How many times must I tell you this in a single day…I am Ash Legion."
"Not anymore, sure. I get it. Don't want to blow your cover, I understand. Flame turns to Ash, I get it," Skarr commented.
Bane took a deep breath and sighed, "Skarr, I do not want any trouble. I just want to look for evidence of the elder dragon, take it, and get back before dusk."
"Have plans elsewhere for later tonight?" Skarr kept watching the eye movements and gestures Bane made with each comment.
"Not exactly, but I do want to get back at some point." Bane just looked forward now, not caring what Skarr had to say on the subject. This riveted Skarr.
"So, what was it like being in the Citadel each day?" Skarr asked placing a hand on Bane's shoulder.
Bane pulled his arm away and shook his head, now walking up towards the rest of the group. He cooled his own nerves and felt good that he was able to control his flames from erupting at his shoulder so Skarr would not be burned.
"What? Bad experiences there or something?" Skarr shouted with a grin that followed.
"So, where are we heading again," Aerion asked aloud hearing Skarr's shout, thinking it an opportunity to talk. He stopped and turned to Skarr, causing Calla to do the same, "I can literally see almost everything around us and nothing looks interesting at all."
The open petrified forest showed for miles in all directions, save to the right where the ship-like rock formation blocked their view. This formation would end in a few yards if they kept up their pace.
"Do us a favor and don't get bored, Aer," Calla called softly to Aerion hearing that familiar tone in his voice.
"Yeah, too late for that, Cal," Aerion commented before Skarr caught up with Bane and the rest of the group.
"Just keep heading straight until we run into some kind of clue," Skarr said with a blank stare out into the empty path before him.
"You've got to be kidding," Calla said before seeing Skarr's gaze turn to her, "That's our plan?"
"I am not kidding," Skarr stated with stern look, grimacing his teeth, "Do you have a better plan?"
Calla looked to Skarr for a few moments, taking in the decision to just walk forward, and then to Aerion, who gave her an inquisitive look.
"Don't look at me, I'm along for the fun of it," Aerion said twisting about his hand in a circular motion, obviously conjuring forth winds to his palm.
Sighing, Calla looked out to the endless plain of scattered rocks of all sizes. "Alright, forward it is."
"Why are we stopped?" Sir Salreznar asked snidely from behind them, "We'll never see any clues at this rate."
Skarr twitched at the ironic comment. He turned around to Salreznar and felt another twitch in his left eye.
"Skarr, calm down," Aerion said with his palm towards Skarr.
"He just needs a few 'scars' to teach him how to talk and walk with a Charr of the Blood legion, Aerion. I can easily provide such services…" Skarr mentioned while still twitching.
Before the angry Charr could finish whipping out his greatsword and charging at Salreznar, he was blown back many yards in the direction they were supposed to be walking.
"Damnit Skarr, don't make me do this," Aerion grumbled lowering his palm.
Calla looked back to Salreznar, who looked surprised, yet happy. "He doesn't mean to be so rude," Calla offered.
"Do I?" the royalist commented with a spiteful grin and eyes half closed.
The Charr got up, faced the group he travelled with, and shook his head. Skarr began to snarl some but stopped abruptly noticing something in the distance in his peripherals now that he was past the ship-like boulder.
"We've been going the wrong way all this time?" Skarr commented under his breath while starring to his left, though everyone else from far away only heard mumbles. His entirety began to move and contort in a rash manner, obviously flustered about something other than the royalist he wanted dead.
"What?" Calla shouted, wondering what was going on.
"We've been going the wrong way this whole time!" Skarr bellowed after his assertion in all his Charr glory and unleashed a clenched fist to the nearby rock formation in fury.
"What do you mean?" Aerion shout-asked before Calla could ask.
"I can see the Grove from here! This whole time we've been walking down the other side of Brisban!" Skarr shouted looking to his left with disgust. He roared again in anger.
"That doesn't make sense…" Calla wondered aloud to Aerion.
"The Grove? The Sylvari tree? Out here?" said Carnell, finally finding the courage to talk out loud since Skarr was far from the group.
"That's what Skarr says," Salreznar commented to his loyal human companion.
"I have to see this with my own eyes," Aerion said now rushing along with Calla to see what Skarr could saw.
Both Calla and Aerion hastened their way to Skarr as Bane and Carnell walked. Salreznar, Hurk, and Glyndra stayed put.
"So Glyndra of Kessex," Salreznar started knowing this would probably take a while, "Can you cook? I was merely wondering myself because I do think you are quite-"
"That is -not- the Grove…" Calla remarked aloud and in a frightening manner, interrupting Salreznar's ploy of courting Glyndra.
"Very correct," Carnell said with widened eyes, "It looks nothing like the Grove, but it does at the same time. How fascinating!" Carnell began to flip around some parchment he had and began to draw what he saw.
The massive tree about thirty or so miles away was more than evident. It rose past a mountain range in the distance and stood proud against the Wastes, as if a beacon telling how nature can overcome the curse of the arid area.
"Why does it resemble a mushroom more than a tree?" Bane commented seeing the massive growth for what it was.
"My word!" Carnell gasped, "It -is- a mushroom! Look at it! It's a mushroom with branches and what looks like a little bit of foliage! It's almost a mushroom tainted with vines and leaves… How amazing nature can be!" Carnell began to erase at what he was drawing to make corrections.
"You know," Aerion began now looking away in thought, "Priory has record of a Sylvari venturing onto Caledon that apparently knew nothing of the Sylvari Dream and the Ventari Tablet, telling he hailed from another tree this way. This could be his tree. His Grove."
Carnell gasped again, "I believe it is located in a pocket farther above where The Wilds are on the old map I have of this area!"
"The Wilds?" Calla asked wondering what the babbling human meant.
"Yes! It was evidently a lush part of the forest at one time. Good to see something able to survive and grow out here."
"Anything we should know about these Wilds?" Skarr curiously asked to Carnell.
At first, Carnell hesitated, but figured it would prove much better to answer the scary Charr than to not respond out of fright. "N-Nothing out of the ordinary. From what I gathered, there is something about a shiny blade there, um, something about chosen or whatnot. Nothing interesting from the history books, but this," Carnell motioned to the giant flora in the distance, "This is magnificent!"
"Is this a clue?" Bane asked realizing it would take until at least dusk to even reach the massive mushroom-tree going at a steady pace, without Salreznar stops.
"I'm not sure," Skarr responded with a questionable look, "It sure is noteworthy though."
"Sho is the fact we're being watched," Cravisk mentioned walking up from the right of everyone's view left to the tree. He had stepped out from behind a rock formation with his pets and walked to them in their stare to the great tree afar. Cravisk was done scouting.
"Welome back," Aerion said with a small smile.
"Noteworthy? Also draw worthy as well!" Carnell said excitedly still mapping and tracing it from his view of it, not hearing Cravisk due to his excitement.
"Being watched?" Skarr asked withdrawing his greatsword.
"Careful Shkarr," Cravisk said with a slight gesture to him, "He aredy knows I am watching him. We not need to let him know we are alsho watching him."
"Where is he?" Skarr asked looking around with his eyes only.
Cravisk only looked up in the direction of where the watcher was with his eyes, no head movements. Salreznar was still too busy wooing Glyndra while Hurk and Glyndra were too busy with Salreznar to notice or concern themselves. The ones that cared began to find ways to look in that direction, save Aerion.
"I can get a better eye on him," Aerion commented while grinning.
"How you do?" Cravisk asked with a raised ridge just below his right horn, where the eyebrow would be if he had eyebrows.
"Air is a wondrous thing Cravisk…" Aerion began to swirl unseen winds by his hands and then closed his eyes. Within a few seconds, his body dispersed into the surrounding sky.
Humid strands whipped through Aerion maliciously at his new essence. He could feel the air trying to pull at him every which way, however through focusing, he collected together in the air. He felt free and like the vast sky was in his reach, like swimming in a vast ocean of air, born anew in his elemental form. Below him were his Forefront partners in their physical variety. Aerion realized why he casted his spell in the first place and targeted the silhouette above the large head-shaped boulder. He advanced irregularly forth embracing the sky sea, coursing through his being at the force of the movement, convening just before the mysterious profile.
Before Aerion can get a good look, the hooded figure swiped at him with a simple hand gesture causing an array of feeling to emerge within Aerion before his physical formed right where he was just before he cast the elemental spell.
"Ugh, whoa," Aerion forced out before coughing.
Aerion wheezed hard coming to, not realizing fully what just happened aside form that he just needed to breathe. He fell to his knees gasping and grasping for air, even magically forcing a small pocket of wind to blow not only upon him, but the entire party quite forcefully without knowing.
"Aerion!?" Calla asked covering her face from the sand and dust, "Are you ok?"
"Y-Yeah," Aerion said still panting heavily, "I'm good, I'm good."
"What was that?" Skarr asked wondering how Aerion disappeared and reappeared.
"I used the wind to gain access to a closer view," he responded holding himself up against his knees.
"And?" Cravisk asked wondering just who or what the onlooker was.
"And I didn't get to make out much," Aerion said, finally standing on his own. "He isn't just some plain walker or random inhabitant from around these dead parts."
"How can you make that assumption?" Calla asked with a raised brow.
Aerion turned and looked to the figure still standing on the edge of the formation in the distance. They all aligned with him, now everyone watching the person as he ultimately stared back.
"I know this because he took me out of my Air form," Aerion then realized how weak he sounded in that moment, "Not that it's hard to do, but he knew I was at least there."
"Sure…" Calla said still staring up at the figure.
"What did you shee up d'ere?" Cravisk really wanted to know something about the one watching him.
"All I saw was someone in all white that was hooded, had a cape to about his lower legs and gold accents to the clothes. Even wore a white mantle."
"Hmm. White and gold? What faction wears-" Calla started before they all watched the figure turn around sharply. It then looked to have leapt off the side of the cliff.
"Uh, what was-" Skarr started before seeing flashes. One at his side and one out of the corner of his eye.
"Someone's in trouble…" Aerion said withdrawing the Priory, Asura-made flare flashing. Skarr took his out too and just looked at it, expecting to see something.
Before anyone could speak on the topic or question why the mysterious figure would jump off the side of a cliff that high up, the group heard a loud crash. The noise rippled through the arid terrain, blaring in mechanical, yet magical eminence.
Everyone of the Forefront with Skarr looked over at the noise. There was an electrical current visible through the air in the vicinity of the boom with blue, Asura magics swelling. Within a millisecond of the sight, familiar faces appeared from the field of energy running for their lives. Immediately after, Skarr's party also now saw what Hrafn's group were running from in all its tangled, spiny, multiple-teethed splendor.