Prismatic

Teammates

We gathered what we need from the market. Tyke went to Telum and bought a Langes sword which replaced his shorter Jian sword. He also bought a Scuta shield which replaced his crusty wooden shield. Aina bought her Asper glove replacing her Blauter glove from Panopa. Tyke and Aina also bought some heavy armor there. Bry bought more stock of potions to his inventory. I don’t know where he puts his items. He doesn’t even have a bag with him. He also bought some clothes on Baite. I bought some food at Cibus for our journey. I borrowed some of Bry’s money to buy them. I bought a lot of meat of course, we needed a lot of protein if we were gonna fight. I also bought some seasonings and soup bases to enrich the flavors.

We were met by another wall on the other side of the market past the clock tower. Bry chanted another spell, Prope Propylaea Agora Seidir (Close the doors to the Magic Market). He made an inverse triple triangle gesture and a beige portal was opened in front of us. We approached the portal and headed out of the market.

We planned to go to Lanuras, after talking to people in the market. We will have to gather as much information as we can about Cavum Hogur.

It was quite a long walk. The road was made of intertwined stone and steel. It was formed in a straight long line and I saw no end in sight. The sun still shined bright mustard on the west horizon. There were multicolored birds flying above. They colored the pale blue sky like birthstones of the first five months. The grass by the side of the road swayed with the wind. A few wild animals could be seen grazing far on each side. No one person could be seen aside from us. The scene was peaceful and relaxing.

I got to know a little about Tyke. His full name is Tyke Schuck. He was an inch shorter but more muscular than Bry and had a very cheerful aura about him. His eyes were a deep sweet caramel and were keen as an eagle. His skin had a little color in it and it matched his ruby scarlet hair. Before he wore his armor, he was wearing a well-knit shirt with scaly pants. He also wore boots made from animal skin with a little fuzz at the mouth.

“So, Tyke, what brought you here and why were you so eager for us to join your team?” I asked with curious eyes.

“Well, we came from the east. We were tasked by our village elders to go on a journey and find two people with unusual powers. We were hoping to find people to join our journey and you two seemed to fit the description.”

“But why, though? Why do you need us on your journey?”

“The village elders told us that there was a pending disaster approaching our village soon”, he paused for a second. “They gave us three hints in finding you. One, a prism will be cast upon chance. Second, an intense light will devour the shadows. Lastly, malevolence will appear before you.”

“Aren’t they just coincidences? I mean, we were just looking for something to buy. I didn’t expect anything to happen”, I lied, keeping myself in check.

“Well, that’s true. But, the village elders told us one last thing before we left–Nein Zufall, no coincidences.”

I was creeped out by this revelation. How did they know all of these? All the nerves in my body tensed but I held myself together before anyone else noticed. To help ease my nerves, I thanked Tyke for the talk then went to Aina for a little girl talk.

Aina, on the other hand, had young rich honey eyes. She had a tinted skin of natural color that paired with her pale rusty hair. She was wearing a shirt made of thick fur and a skirt made of scales before she wore her armor. She was a bit boyish and very open.

I caught Aina’s attention before I even got to her. “Hey there, Aina”, I started, “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, go ahead”, she answered casually.

“What was that thing you did before? You know, when you defeated that thing”

“Oh, that”, she thought for a minute, “That’s what you call a Pentral. It’s summoning a spirit to help you in your battle.”

“Can Tyke also do that?”

“No, I was the only one in our village born with it. At first, I started to hear voices from the things around me and I thought I was going crazy”, she composed herself for a while, “The village elders said that it was a gift from our ancestors and that I was blessed with it.”

She continued, “If you’d ask me, it’s more of a curse than a gift. The spirits keep plaguing my mind until they are satisfied. Sometimes, it’s hard to sleep at night”

My expression became pale. “But you know what, Jo? Later on, I learned to control them. I just needed to accept the gift or else they will pester me for all eternity and I don’t want to disappoint my ancestors.”

“Good point”, I said convinced, “Can I ask you another question?”

“Okay, what is it?”

“How do you relate to each other?”

She was a deep tomato red, “Well, I have known him since we were children. It’s not like I wanted to go on a journey with him or anything”, she took a glance at Tyke then looked away, “I was just following what the elders ordered us to do.”

I distanced a little bit. Good thing Bry was just close to me when I did. I was embarrassed and I shouldn’t have asked her that. It’s so obvious, you know! I thought to myself. I just let her blush to the side and went to Bry’s side.

“Having fun, Jo?” he teasingly asked.

“Kind of…?” I said as I hid my face behind his arm.

“That’s what you get for being nosy”, he said, sternly.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Bry doesn’t like a lot of company. He’s so introverted and so inside his head. Would it hurt to socialize a little? I just tried to understand our predicament because I knew that this, too, shall pass.

To break the embarrassing silence, I talked to Bry. “Hey, um… You haven’t said anything to me yet”, is what I struggled to say.

“Hmm…? About what?” he seemed puzzled at my inquiry.

“You know, the things you will explain when I woke up in your bed”

“Oh, that. I almost forgot about that”, he searched his head for an answer, “Ah, yes. Let’s start at the beginning. Do you remember what I said about the forest messing with your head?”

I nodded. Finally, I’m getting some answers.

“That forest is protected by a Gigno. It’s an all encompassing entity of the forest. It oversees the forest by taking different forms unfathomable”, he looked at my reaction and I was not doing well hiding it, “Did you, perhaps, see anything in there before meeting me? Did you encounter anything strange or out-of-this-world?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid that you would send me away. I thought I was going crazy”, I confessed.

“What did you see, exactly? Did something strange happen to you?” he fixed his gaze at me.

“I saw a beautiful lady with wings. I also saw a crystal deer”, I caught my breath, “Whenever I see them, I know something bad will happen to me there.”

“The lady that you saw is a Decoris Virago. It is one form of Gigno. It might be driving you away. It might also be showing you a path you needed to take”, he paused, waiting for me to respond which I didn’t so he continued, “The deer is not a form of Gigno, it is Gigno itself. Why was it showing itself to you?” I just shrugged, “Interesting”, he mused.

I almost stopped on my tracks upon hearing that. Did it mean that it was protecting me or monitoring me? If it had some issues with me, I was having none of that. I shook those thoughts away. It couldn’t follow me here anyway, right?

“Hey Bry, I was just curious. Where do you put your potions and stuff? Can I stuff this pile of meat there?” I huffed. I almost forgot that I was wheeling a thick pile of meat with seasonings on top.

Bry laughed a little, “Why did you buy so much? We could just hunt some Kreas outside town.”

I didn’t think of that. When I bought this heap, I thought that it would be easier to prepare meals since they’re already got them cut up into varieties. I don’t want to spend the time cleaning up the meat. Besides, these are good quality meat. I pleaded, “Oh come on, Bry. Please?”

“Okay, fine”, he grumbled, “I will only do it this one time.” He started to chant a spell, “Vocitus.” A small vortex of black and gray opened inside his cloak. He took out the potions from the void to make space for the meat. He slid in the meat one by one then he placed the potions onto the cart.

“Amazing, man… I didn’t know you could do that. Can you fit a person in there?” said Tyke watching the whole sequence.

“You wanna try? I haven’t done it before, but if you insist. You don’t mind swimming with meat?” Bry replied sourly.

“Hey man, I was just asking”, Tyke shuddered by the thought.

“Okay boys, break it up. Don’t start or I will bury you to the soft soil. The plants wouldn’t mind feeding on you”, threatened Aina.

The bickering abruptly stopped after hearing that. Aina looked definitely serious. Sensing that, the boys apologized to each other and shook hands. “Now, wasn’t that nice?” said Aina, the threat subsiding.

We all walked in silence.

The sun had already set when we arrived at Lanuras. There was still grass in this town. The houses were evenly spaced from each other. There was a saloon, an inn, and mostly residential houses. It was a quiet little town. We settled for the inn to rest a little. Aina and I prepared dinner. The owner of the inn gave us some wood and fuel. Bry pulled out the pile of meat from his inventory when we arrived at the inn. He set off with Tyke to gather information about Cavum Hogur.

Surprisingly, the meat was still fresh and hadn’t even spoiled a bit. I seasoned the meat while Aina set up the cooking area. I formed the meat into balls, added some vegetables and poured in the soup mixture. While the meat and vegetables are cooking, I talked to Aina. “So Aina, what is your ideal man?” I asked although I already know the answer.

Aina thought for a while, “Well, what I like about guys is not their strength, ideals or charm. My ideal man is someone who has a heart to guide your life that changes your whole perspective on how to live it. He exudes confidence that you are only his, like you are the only world he lives in. He is not selfish and shares his kindness with others, serving whole-heartedly”

I tapped my hands together for a round of applause. “If this were a pageant, you have already won. That man must work harder to meet your expectations”, I winked three times, elbowing her.

She switched on to me, “How about you, have you found someone you like?” I breathed a long sigh and thought about it.

“Well, I think I have”, I said eyeing Bry with Tyke as they greeted us. We prepared the table and ate our dinner.