The tale of Drakfot

[norvic]

A good read as always Drak, especially from work

[legokid]

Drakfot again you write a story that touch my heart and Aqua's. You would have to be the greatest writer this side of the LakeLands.

I wish i could write like you, but you have many year above me. I hope that someday my famlies tales will be as great as yours.

Keep up the grand work

Windra the Wind Guardian

[rabcaz]

The tale of Drakfot - Part 14 The eternal night of the Roots - Part II.

Everyone made themselves ready to leave once more, now away from the pillar that
had previously been their destination. Once more the wielding fighters dressed
in Heavy Armor took the lead but now they moved in a lined formation instead of
more spread out as before. They had all got strict instructions from the leader
of the trip;

1.Move closely
2.Do not acquire any items from the fallen animals
3.Do not move in front of the one leading the group
4.Do not spread out
5.Make sure that no one is left behind.

"Don't worry Drakfot, its not as hard as it seems. These are the general
guidelines when traveling in a larger group, its to keep it as controlled as
possible." Rikka whispered to Drakfot as they quietly moved from the pillar
towards the wall that they had followed before.

It seemed as everyone had taken on a serious face as they moved along the wall.
And who would not have thinking of what happened when they first arrived into
the roots. Drakfot could notice how many of those that had not traveled here
before took an extra breath of worry now and then. And she was one of them. She
could still not grasp how dangerous this place was, they had only been given a
short glimpse of it and that had been well enough. She gave the area a quick
look and thought about how beautiful this place, perhaps it was mostly seen as a
dark cave, but in return everything here shined with such glow and beauty. There
were so many things here that she had not seen before. Of course that had
happened quite a lot during the travel through the lands, still this place found
itself a special place within her memory. "As dangerous as it is beautiful" She
thought to herself.

In the far distant she could start to see the shape of yet another large pillar
and she thought that they were headed towards it, but she soon noticed that they
only moved towards it shortly due to some Voraxes had made themselves
comfortable by the wall. It was preferred to sneak around then to fight here she
had been told. The group could likely manage two , perhaps three of them at
best. But if a fourth one , or any other too for that matter, would find their
way into the battle they would most likely meet a defeat. So now everyone moved
as quietly as possible following the leader.

"Hey Drak.." Drakfot moved hastily and had to place her hand in front of her
mouth in order to silence a scream. It was Memorx who had appeared behind her
and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Memorx, you scared me rather well, I though it was a Kincher or a Vorax!"
Drakfot said with a loud whisper as he came up aside her. "Where have you been
?"

"Sorry, I got a bit delayed at the last stop. Nothing to worry about though." He
said with a smile.
But despite the darkness there Drakfot could see that he had some smaller wounds
and dirt in his face, and a closer look on his body told her that he had surely
been engaged in battle.

"Are you sure that you are well Memorx ? You seem to have been in an accident of
some kind, please let me tend for your wounds as soon as possible." Drakfot said
while looking at him.

"Yes, you are right, I got into a fight with one of the locals down here. It
seems as they do not think well of me, or of anyone of us I believe. It seems as
they see themselves as guardians of this place and do not hold back on violent
retaliation when they find someone that trespasses. According to them everyone
does." He said with a smile, but she could notice that his foot or leg must have
been hurt as when he took the next step his smile turned into a smile to avoid
to show pain.

Drakfot decided to take the risk of giving Memorx some quick care and casted a
small healing and pain damping spell. As it hit him she noticed that he became a
bit more alert and ready and he thanked her with a big happy smile.

"He is almost as Rikka when he smiles like that." She thought to herself.

They had now reached the top the cliff or whatever it was they were sneaking
against. But even if it turned to their left they still continued to follow it,
it was most comfortable that way and it was also what lead to the portal they
were traveling to. After running a few more hundred meters, they were quite
lucky as it seemed as their travel was going quite well indeed. Perhaps it was
the anxiety they had in combination with the surroundings that gave their
imagination energy to scare them. Still many, of not everyone, was running
taking that extra breath. Suddenly they stopped..

The leader turned around and made sure that everyone was accounted for and as
soon as he saw Drakfot, Rikka and Crythos he pointed to his right , straight out
into the darkness. At first Drakfot could not see what he was pointing at, she
tried to make out what every single shape she could see was, still nothing. It
was then it appeared to her what he was showing, the darkness. It was not dark
as in black, it was green. Somehow the dark black color they had seen since they
took their steps into the Prime Roots were different over there, it was
shimmering in green and green-black colors. It was a wonderful show of light
that appeared to them as soon as their eyes got used to it. Not only the gentle
fumes that arise from the ground, but also the light casted on the animals
around it, the plants and grass, everything added to the show. It could seem as
it was nothing peculiar, but for many of the Homins there it was.

"Is this emanating from the sap?" Drakfot asked straight out.

"Yep, it sure is. Haven't seen it with my own eyes until now, but it sure makes
good for what I have heard of it." Crythos said as he stood next to Drakfot
looking at the green light.

"I have heard that when you walk in it, it is like walking in water but its
easier and that it tickles in a funny way." Rikka said. She was smiling again
and Drakfot could notice in her eyes that she was quite eager to walk in the
pound.

"Ehm, Rikka.." Drakfot started to say

"Yes Drakfot, its on the list of things to do, hi hi" Rikka replied as she had
read Drakfot's mind.

"ha ha, well it is most certainly not the last time we will be down here is it."
Crythos said.

They stood there for just a moment longer, it was perhaps only a few seconds but
for them it seemed as time was almost standing still. The leader caught their
attention by making a quiet hissing sound and soon they were running along the
wall again.
Now and then a stray Kincher found their scent but was quickly put to rest by
them. Yet every time they were shown how hard the conditions was down here, it
took an effort of them all to be able to strike the Kinchers down.

Even though this place was so beautiful Drakfot wondered what it was that made
the Homins coming down here time after time even when not traveling from place
to place. What was it that made this place to valuable for them. She decided to
ask Crythos.

"Well, as you see its not just a fine looking spot, it also has the most
valuable items Homins can harvest. You see, the items that we can claim from the
sources here are of the highest quality, 250, and of the finest kind. In fact it
is so fine that it can be used to craft items of every land." He replied
silently.
"Every craft is optimized after the best materials that can be found in each
lands. So you can use the materials found in lakelands to craft the highest and
finest quality of things with the lakeland craft. but you can only use the basic
and basic fine materials if you wish to craft something that is not made for
lakeland materials. But these materials down here are so well made and refined
that they can be used for any craft possible. " He added as they ran by another
pillar.

Drakfot could spot yet another pillar close to the one they just ran by, but she
was still taken by what Crythos just said.

"So these materials here are wanted by Homins for their capabilities?" She asked
him.

"Yes, that and the fact that they have a more positive effect on the items that
you craft." He said as he almost stumbled over a small rock.

"Are you alright Crythos" Drakfot asked him.

"Yes, I am just not used to run around in places as this. Its quite the change
for the lakelands beaches and oceans." He replied.

"HAHA, you clumps footed you." Rikka said with a laugh and soon they both joined
her.

It felt good to let the tension disappear like that and soon , as they had all
finished giggling and laughing, they were following the group. They had gotten a
few meters behind, but now they were both spirited and full of energy to
continue the journey so they increased the pace and was soon back with the group
again.
As they reached them they heard whispers that they were not far away from the
lakelands now.

"Yeah, I am actually glad to see Bounty Beaches after being down here." Crythos
said.

[legokid]

Again another grand tale Drakfot and a pleasure to read.

Keep up the grand tales Lady Drakfot, can't wait.

//Windra

[rabcaz]

The tale of Drakfot - Part 15, Open lands once more.

As they got closer to the group they could hear the whispers that the portal was
now nearby, but that there was one small task now left to be done before leaving
the darkness of the Prime Roots. It was to find the Karavan whom held a
teleporting unit not far away from the portal.

"Gather up everyone, it's time for a short, but well worth, detour now. We shall
move along that wall over there so that we can find the Karavan and make pacts
with them here." The leader said as they all closed in on a spot that seemed to
be safe. "Same rules as always, but stay sharp there are some times smaller
Kinchers walking along the wall. So be ready for a fight."

As if it was by old habits Drakfot, Rikka and Crythos formed up a small party
near the end of the group. But as the leader had given a warning the entire
group now were moving so closely what every member could easily be spotted with
the eye even in the darkness of the Roots.
They gently moved along the wall, some of the animals around them noticed them
moving yet did not pay it much attention as they were busy with their own
doings. But the ruckus of two Yelks fleeing away from the moving group caught
the attention of a lone Kincher that was patrolling by. At first it tried to
find a meal in the Yelks, but as they moved away already it turned around an
instead noticed the row of Homins moving along the wall. It was for the Kincher
a rare sight, and also a rare snack as they by birth, it seemed, knew that
Homins were an easy target and so it set off towards the group.
Thankfully as everyone were indeed staying sharp and not one but many eyes were
constantly peeking around for dangers the Kincher were quickly discovered. As it
barged towards them several bolts of light and posionus aerosnakes landed on it,
bullets from shooters gave up a silent "thud" as it left the shell traveling
through the air to finally burrow down deeply in the Kinchers leg. As it fell it
was met by the swords of the frontal fighters. Soon it was all over and the
group were once more a tight knot moving fast along the wall.
Soon they found a opening in the wall and everyone moved in there, through some
strange large plants and after a moment they cold all spot the Karavan's whom
stood by their teleportation unit looking at them as they saw so many Homins
coming at once.

"I see that there has been another world travel, you are all most welcome to
bind a pact with us." The Karavan watchman said to them.

Drakfot gathered some courage and walked up to him, she had not yet got used to
the ways of purchasing pacts.

"ahm.. I would.. like to .. *mumbles* .. pact... please" She didn't dare to look
the tall man in front of her in the eyes. Or where the eyes most likely are as
she could not see through the shielding glass on his helmet. She had always
sensed that there was something special surrounding these Homins.

"Aha, you wish to make a pact with us here Homin, or can I call you by your name
Drakfot?" The man said, and she was certain that his eyes were fixed on her.

She looked up at him, facing his protective glass, yet she could feel his eyes.
But also that he was smiling warmly towards her. "How.. did you know my name?"
She asked him a bit surprised but somehow she understood why they would know her
name. Suddenly her thoughts went back to Ce-Ni Bong and the conversation they
had. There is so much here that she does not understand so clearly.

"Well, it is always good for us to know the names whom we have made pacts with,
and besides I overheard your friends over there calling your name a moment ago."
He said with a nice, almost laughing voice. "And you are welcome to travel here
anytime Drakfot."

Drakfot bowed deeply to the Karavan Travel Master and moved aside a little while
the others lined up to receive their pacts. It seems as there was still so much
she needed to find out, to cope with and understand. As she looked around she
accidentally bumped into one of the large tree-like plants they had run through
to get to the Karavan. As she did it moved some of its branches as if it tried
to shake her off. She looked at the huge pillar that was in front of her. Was it
alive ?
She touched it carefully and as she did the branch over her hand started shaking
slowly in an sense of harmony. She slowly moved her hand and the branch seemed
to follow it. Suddenly it shook a few branches making a few leaves to fall off
and fall over Drakfot as a curtain as it headed to the ground. She smiled and
moved away from the plant to the others as she had heard it was time to depart
to the portal.

The voices whispering that they would soon see the sun again made the whole
group eager to travel there in a hurry. So as the leader made the gesture to
move they all fell in line quickly and moved back out to the wall from which
they had come previously. Once more they moved with great precision and
attention to everything that was around them and soon they were back at the
point where the detour had started. Now as they all gathered up the leader
pointed in a direction just outside their sight, then made another gesture
telling them that it was towards there they now were headed. It was without any
problems or battles they soon reached an opening for a cave and as soon as they
saw it many began to rush into it knowing that the spinning portal in the end
was waiting.
It was a nice relief for them all after the tensions of traveling in the Roots
to finally find the safe spot of the portal.

Rikka, Crythos and Drakfot waited until everyone else had gone through the
portal before they stepped through. And moments later they all felt a warm
breeze covering them as they opened their eyes and saw the green's of a beach
cave. They were now in Bounty Beaches.

As they made their way to the opening of the cave they saw that everyone was
standing there waiting for then while enjoying the sun and the warm sands. Both
Rikka and Drakfot decided to remove their boots and run barefoot from now on. It
was a warm and soft sensation to bury the feets in the sands, a sensation they
had missed for some time.
Thinking about it many days and nights had passed since they set off from
Fairhaven to travel around Atys. And now they were almost all home again.
Crythos unsheathed his rifle and placed it on his shoulder aiming at a distant
Ragus.

"Bang" he said silently to himself as he made a gesture of shooting it. "It's
always good to calibrate your eyes when coming from such dark place into the
light again. Eyes are the most important tool when finding the target for the
bullet."

"So I take it that you're happy with being in the Lakelands again Crythos."
Rikka said and gave off a smile that was not far off from being a challenge for
the sun to beat in shine.

"Yuepp, sure is good being back on your own back yard." Crythos said and
sheathed his rifle again.

"Ok, great work so far everyone, I know that we are not far from homes and
loved ones." The leader said.

"And aaaaleee!" Memorx added with a happy shout.

"Yes, that too. But for now we are headed straight through these lands, I'll
leave the exploration of them up to you for a later quest. But for now we are
hading just about straight through to that mountain you can see over there." He
said and pointed into the distance.
"This might be our homelands, but its still a dangerous place to be at and we
all need to stay focused even here. And now even though we have the sun warming
us, it can also blind our sight so be careful everyone. "

"It seems as we are going to see if the Karavan have fixed the teleportation
unit they have on the other side of the mountain or not." Rikka said. "Rumor has
it that it has been working, but a swarm of Kitins gave it a good beat during a
raid sometime ago."

"So it has not been working since then ?" Drakfot asked her.

"Yeah, or well it must have been ages ago, I cannot remember it working while I
have been around here so.." Rikka replied. "But I guess that we will soon find
out won't we."

She was smiling again. Soon the three of them were running at their by now usual
position at the end of the group. Drakfot though about a few things that had
happened during the journey and was happy that she had met such nice Homins, her
friends.

Now it was time for the animals in Bounty Beaches to be astound over the small,
yet powerful and unstoppable force of Homins that was traveling through it in
order to reach their homes.

[rouse23]

*sighs completely relaxed in her hammock, as she sets the latest chapter down on the night stand.."that drakfot really knows how to adventure!"


kirie

[legokid]

*rolls up parchment and places it in bag before heads off to help Aqua* Drakfot you really know how to have an adventure, I truely wonder if we meet in a past life?

Keep up the great work.

//Windra

[rabcaz]

The tale of Drakfot - Part 16, Beautiful warm sun.

They all moved a bit spread out now as they were no longer in the darkness of
the Prime Roots. It seemed as everyone was happy about getting out of there as
the place seemed to hold some aura that caused them all to feel uncertain. But
now it was all back to as it had been before they had entered the Roots. They
were laughing and some were even singing songs of joy as they ran across the
lands. Even though they met Kinchers several times they fought with strength and
will. The mobs here was not as tough skinned as those in the roots, they did put
up good resistance, but alas were defeated by the group of Homins that had
gotten to know each other closer since they had all joined up to travel the four
lands.

The leader no longer had to shout instructions to them, where to stand, whom to
do what, as they had all gotten to know their places. Even if they were spread
out as soon as danger lurked about they would quickly come together and fight.
During one of these struggles it seemed as a Kincher roared loudly enough to
summon more of its kind, it surprised the Homins a bit as the opposing forces
now grew stronger all of a sudden.
Even though one is strong, numbers can be overwhelming, and it was now.
Suddenly Drakfot heard how Rikka shouted out as a Kincher had stabbed her from
behind, and it was now set towards Drakfot. She tried to heal Rikka enough so
that she would get on her feet, but as the incantation was to leave her hands
she saw the quick movement of a Kincher claw and all became dark. As she came to
she was lying on the ground next to Rikka and she could see how Crythos was
trying to get away, badly limping and dragging his rifle in its hold lash next
to him.

A Kincher appeared behind him and lifted its claw and let it fell towards him,
Drakfot closed her eyes as she did not want to see it. But as she opened her
eyes again she saw Crythos lying on the ground holding his rifle between himself
and the Kincher's claw, struggling hard not to be crushed under the weight of
it. Suddenly a crack was heard as the handle on the rifle started to brake
apart. Drakfot tried to get on her feets , but the gash in her stomach was too
deep so she ended up coughing up blood on the ground. She was too weak to stand
up.

Then she saw Crythos making a face as he gathered strength and actually pushed
the Kinchers claw towards the Kincher itself. It was surprised that such little
one could make such resistance so it raised the other claw to counter-attack.
Suddenly it bellowed a roar and she saw why; Crythos had used the opportunity to
grab his dagger and buried it deep into the leg of the Kincher.
As it lifted it's head and shouted he took his chance and ran away as fast as he
could.

Drakfot looked in amazement at Crythos as he ran away, but the Kincher was not
far behind when suddenly something happened. There was a sudden mist surrounding
Crythos and as if by magic he would not stop increasing his speed as he ran.
Moments later he was disappearing behind an edge of the mountain. Soon the
Kincher gave up its hunt likely due to its leg and turned around now going back
to Rikka and Drakfot.

"He is one heck of a fighter that one, hehe." Rikka said as she sat up on her
knees, she was still as weak as Drakfot.

"What.. was that he did?" Drakfot asked, still wondering what had happened, how
could a Homin move so fast so suddenly ?

"Let's talk later shall we." Rikka said as she was lifted into the air of a
powerful healing spell. As soon as she landed she healed Drakfot and grabbed her
arm and put it around her neck dragging them both away from the path of the
Kincher.

The others had meanwhile fought off the other Kinchers and seen the dilemma that
Drakfot, Crythos and Rikka had been in. They had cleaned up quickly and then
proceeded to heal them while the tanks ran in front of them. They all battled
well and the Kincher seemed to fall as another Kincher joined it in its battle.
In a moment both Rikka and Drakfot were at health and started to heal the others
the best they could, it was not as hard as before but it seemed as the spot they
were standing at were a gathering point of some sort as they could notice that
more and more Kinchers were approaching.

"Run to the mountain, we'll make use of the wall as cover" The leader shouted
and took off followed by them.

While running a few Kirostas caught their scent and decided to follow them. It
seemed as the numbers of attackers grew too quickly, it was hard to keep
everyone standing on their feet at the same time. And they could not loose any
more hands from battle to heal as then they would decrease the chances of
winning the fight. The Kincher and its companion kept the tanks and healers busy
as they continued to land attack after attack, the healers were almost exhausted
as they healed the fighters and themselves in order to keep them up.
Now they had the wall at their backs which was an advantage that they now had a
field of half a circle from where the mobs could attack. Might not be much but
was much better then having the disadvantage being attackable from all around.
The Kinchers seemed to take some damage and soon the smaller one of them fell to
the ground and the tanks concentrated on the large one.
The elementalists were busy fending off the Kirostas, but it seemed as they put
up a good fight as their sting gave more damage then what the elementalists
could deal them.

Suddenly a pack of bullets flew in front of Drakfot's face and landed in the
head of a Kirosta, it screamed and started waving its sting trying to remove the
bullets as they hurt. As it did more bullets came flying and soon put the
Kirosta out of its misery. And soon more bullets came flying hitting the other
Kirostas.

Drakfot looked at where they came from and saw a familiar face, Crythos was back
and even with a rifle with a broken handle his aim was not off a inch. He smiled
to her as he reloaded and then continued to fire and fire until the Kirostas
fell one by one.
As they were all lying on the ground kicking out the last of their energy
everyone focused on the large Kincher alone. Now as they were gathered again the
group's focus raised and soon the Kincher were hit by one successful attack
after the other. Even though they all now could fight this Kincher alone it took
quite some time but after a while it staggered around finally to fall to the
ground.

The leader walked up to it and looked at it, carved a part off it and gave off a
"as I though". He then turned around facing the others.

"This was a hard beast to overcome, you all did well." He said.

"Why was this one so tough then? I mean we left the Roots a while back and as
far as I know they are not able to travel through portals?" Memorx asked the
leader.

"The answer is actually quite simple, this was no ordinary Kincher, nor a
Kincher from the Roots. This was one which is known as a Named Mob, my guess is
that this is Chaghan." The leader said as he held up the piece he carved out
from it. "It's just a guess though, crafters would know more about these
materials."

"Can I have a look at that please?" A young Tryker said as he walked to the
leader.

"Sure, have a look" The leader said and handed over the item.

"Yeah, well, I haven't seen these things in reality. But I have studied them
from books and amber cubes. These materials we have here differs greatly from
the ordinary ones found in the ground. Some say that its due to that these
animals sometimes eats the materials from the ground. And through them they are
refined for some reason. Basically these are known as excellent materials,
really good use for crafts too I might add." The Tryker said and handed the
piece back to the leader.

"nah, if you can make use of it, take 'em." He said to the Tryker.

"Well, if no one else have any needs for them I sure can use them." He said.

Everyone in the group agreed that he could have them as he was the most talented
crafter there, they didn't want to waste what they had fought so hard to win.

"Congratulations to your first named one!" The leader shouted as they continued
to run.

Following the wall of the mountain they soon rounded the lower edge not far from
Tupile Trade Post. Even though feeling more certain at themselves they wanted to
avoid another surprise, after all it was good to be back in the homelands. But
as they were not totally safe yet they chosed to be more alert just for a while
longer until they reached the safety of the lakes.
There were some more encounters of smaller kinds and they all fought as
concentrated as before, even if the target was easy they did not chance.

Suddenly they could she something in the distance that was reflecting the sun.
It felt somewhat familiar and soon they were close enough to see what it was. It
was the Karavan teleporter they had mentioned as they had emerge into Bounty
Beaches. The leader decided that they were all worth a longer rest and that they
could do so at the teleporter.
Everyone sat back in the shadows of some palms not far from the teleporter and
relaxed, some had something small to eat or drink and wounds were tended to
properly.

Drakfot walked up to the Karavaneer standing at the teleporter looking at him.
She still felt uncertain as she could not see his face and that he was so tall.

"Uhm.. " She said as she started to say something.

"Yes, hello there. You looking for a pact?" The Karavan man said.

"Uhm.. yes.. I think" Drakfot replied.

"There is no need to be afraid of me, nor any of us Karavan young Homin. We wish
you no harm." He said with as soothing voice.

"I am just.. not used to.." Drakfot started to say.

"this." The Karavaneer added. "I can understand that, but do not worry. You will
get used to it soon enough. We all get a bit uncertain at times, it's natural."

Drakfot looked at him and once more she thought of the Kami adept, even if they
were so closely bound to their gods and beliefs, they did not look down on any
Homin.

"About the pact I'm afraid that I cannot help you there yet. This machine is not
working properly and I am here to warn Homins about it as traveling with it can
be dangerous." He said to her.

"I see. Th-thank you anyway." Drakfot said and bowed to him and walked away.

She noticed that Rikka and Crythos was sitting under a palm so she joined them.
Rikka was doing fine eating some fruits of some kind and Crythos was looking at
the handle of his rifle.
"I am sorry that it is broken Crythos." Drakfot said as she sat down next to
him.

"Ah well, It saved my life didn't it. And I have outgrown it by now, it's time
to get a new one." He said looking at it.

"Yes, I am glad that it did save you." Drakfot replied then looked at Crythos.
"What... what was that happened before ? When you ran so fast?"

"Ah, hehe, well that is a skill I have recently learned. It's called speeding,
it's a magical spell that takes energy from the air around and strengthens your
muscles enough to manage to run faster a short bit. But after using it you have
to rest for a while in order to use it again, otherwise it would wear your body
out in a matter of seconds." He replied with a smile.

"Hey, did you even travel or did you drown in all information Drakfot?" Rikka
said.

"It has been so much, I do not think I can remember everything you have taught
me so far. I am sorry if I ask too much." Drakfot said thinking about all the
new things she constantly keeps learning about. It was a hefty amount of thing
that she had learned since they set out from Fairhaven.

"Well, if there is anything you wonder about Drakfot, just ask." Rikka said.

"Friends help each other, and we are friends aren't we" Crythos added with a
smile as he took bite of a fruit.

[rabcaz]

The tale of Drakfot - Part 17, A town, a home.

"Ok, rest is over for now, time to get that last bit done before we can really
rest ourselves." The leader said as he stood up looking at everyone. "We will
head northeast from here, there should be a cave there with a portal that leads
to Lakelands."

Everyone listened to him and got up and got ready. Those wounded had got their
bandages replaced and were fit for fight as if nothing had ever happened to
them. Some had to have a look at their armors, especially the tanks, as they had
broken a tad. All in all, this group that had left these lands days ago now were
ready to return back home, perhaps beaten in body but grown in spirit. They had
seen the worlds, they had traveled the lands of Atys the living planet. And now
they were traveling the way homeward.

Drakfot, Rikka and Crythos stood up and took their position in the far end of
the group seeing that no one was left behind. It could easily be seen that if
everyone were glad to once more walk in the sands of the lakelands they were now
even happier to see their hometown again. The breeze traveled with them as they
ran along the land headed toward a wall not far away, towards the portal leading
home. There were some whom found them interesting and tried to stand in their
way but they were now easily put aside by the group, it was as by automation
that everyone did their part healing, fighting , casting spells or protecting
others from getting hurt. When they had left the town of Fairhaven previously
many had for the first time taken the first steps outside the Lakelands, all led
by some few whom had traveled the lands before. During the travels they had got
to know each other and learned to work together. They had grown both as Homins
and as friends; the journey had been more then just walking the lands. There had
been so much during this time that it would take even more time to understand it
all.

"Good, we are almost at the portal so gather up everyone, and beware those
cloppers there." The leader said as he pointed at a cliff sticking out in the
near distance.

"Ouch! Stop pinching darn clopper" Memorx shouted as a clopper had run up to
him and attacked.
"I'll get you for that, it was my best caster pants!"

The clopper had aimed an attack towards him but he had dodged it in the last
second leaving only cloth left for the clopper. And as he had moved aside it had
ripped his caster pants whom were now showing a large hole by his left thigh. He
answered by casting an electrical bolt towards the clopper that hit it right in
the head and it got confused by the hit. Next bolt hit it straight into its
chest so it flew backwards landing on the ground lost of life.

"Wooo, nice Memorx" Rikka said happily.

"Well, thank yo... Hey what are you looking at!" He replied.

Rikka just giggled and extended her tounge towards him and he answered by doing
the same. Such friends Homins had become during this travel. Drakfot did her
best to heal him while he was fighting and had not noticed his armor becoming
torn. After this they took up the trail to join the others whom were almost at
the portal now and it seemed as nothing else would stand in their way. Some
cutes were offended by their presence but moments later they were also lost in
battle and the group now gathered up at the portal ready to move through into
the beloved homelands.

"Hey Drakfot, can I have a look at your amps ?" Rikka asked. "I just want to
have a look at something."

"Yes of course, here." Drakfot said as she removed her amplifiers handing them
over to Rikka. She looked at Rikka whom were looking at the amps with some
interest. What was she doing ?
"Say, you have become quite a good healer haven't you?" She asked Drakfot.

Drakfot blushed a little and lowered her sight into the ground replying "Perhaps
a little."
She had in fact learned a bit during everything, but it was soaked in the
adventure it had all been so she had not noticed it.

"Well, I bet you are in for a surprise soon then." Rikka said with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Drakfot asked her confused as if something bad were to
happen.

"You will see." Rikka said with a giggle while jumping through the portal.

"Don't worry, she likes to tease. So shall we?" Crythos said as he offered hi
hand to help Drakfot through the portal.

"Thank you" Drakfot said still pondering what Rikka was talking about.

Well at the other side she saw that the beach was taken by her traveling friends
whom had taken a bath while waiting. They seemed to enjoy being able to swim in
the water again, after all a Tryker's home is the land of the lakes.
Drakfot smiled as she removed her boots and walked down to the water just to
stand there for a moment. Her feets were aching from all the constant running,
even though they had stopped and rest she was not used to such things just yet.
But in time she would be she thought to herself.
It was a refreshing feeling that ran through her body emanating from her feets,
it was a real refreshment just standing there, but she could hardly wait to be
swimming through it.

"Everyone here, good. Lets move out them!" The leader had already taken a run
for it and they could notice that he also was happy to be back home.

Rikka hooked both Crythos and Drakfot's arms and ran with them hanging after
down to the water then to suddenly stop. As they were not ready for this both
Crythos and Drakfot fell into the water with a big splash. As they got
themselves together and found their way to the surface they were met by the
biggest grin they had sen on Rikka. She could barely hold herself.

"HAHAHHA, what a face you two made.. oh stop it's killing me.. hahhaha" She was
laughing so hard that she could barely stand up straight.

Drakfot and Crythos looked at her, then at each other and smiled. Then they
started splashing at Rikka as she was still standing there laughing and they too
joined her. Perhaps it was the last of the anxiety and tensions that now were
loosened thanks to her little prank. In seconds she was soaked and looked at
them through her hair hanging down her face. Suddenly she got a devious smile on
her face and took a jump from where she was standing and jumped high up in the
air landing between Drakfot and Crythos causing a giant splash hitting them
both. As they could look again after brushing off the water in their faces the
saw Rikka smiling at them.

"I win" she shouted as she tossed herself in the water and started swimming
after the group whom had reached quite a bit since they had stopped for their
little game.

Drakfot and Crythos just smiled and started to swim after Rikka heading towards
the others.
They reached a small island where a root stood in its center, Drakfot stopped
and just looked at it. What was it ? It looked like a giant animal standing
there on its four legs looking out over the entire area, watching over it. She
stared on it and forgot about the cloppers that were around. Luckily Crythos and
Rikka were more cautious and took up arms against them. They were no hard
advisory but they had a larger number then the three. And the group were already
too far away to be able to head back in time. But even now they experience of
the travel showed as Rikka and Crythos stood in front of Drakfot making a wall
between her and the cloppers. She understood her part and started to heal them
both as good as she could. After a short moment the last clopper fell but
something happened to Drakfot.
Suddenly there was something appearing from the ground, small dots of light whom
flew up and surrounded her, then some pearls of sweat on her flew off and joined
the others as they swirled around her to fade off into nothing. What had just
happened she wondered, and had the others seen it.

"Nice rush eh?" Rikka asked Drakfot. "We didn't see it, but the expression on
your face says a lot"

"But what was that ? What happened to me ?" Drakfot asked confused.

"Well, I don't think no one can tell really I think. It's just something that
happens now and then, many just see it as a sign that you have learned more.
Others says that its the sap of Atys that binds closer to you giving you more
knowledge." Rikka answered kindly.

"But, if.. I .. how?" Drakfot were even more confused now and could hardly make
sense of it.

"Well, talk to the trainers when we reach Fairhaven. They will tell you how to
study." Crythos said. "Seems like the groups is waiting for us now."

They made their way to the shore on the other side of the small island. In fact
there were several small islands around as the water were shallow at places.
They headed straight to the group even knowing that running on some spots would
attract the cloppers. Yet once they were back in the water they were safe from
them. By doing this they reached the others fast and soon were everyone gathered
again. It seemed as many had enjoyed the water so much that they had
deliberately traveled slower.

"Ok, we shall travel to Windermeer before heading to Fairhaven. This is also the
place where we will separate if you want to. Those living in Windermeer will of
course stay there if they like to, others may join us in the last run to
Fairhaven from there." The leader said as they started to run down a stair like
cliff that was extending beneath. They were running behind the waterfall they
had seen down into the lakes below and from there started to swim south.

Soon they found themselves on a small island where a small Yubo herd had its
place and they were quick to run up to the new strange Homins looking at them.
Some were sniffing the small bags they had tied to their belt as they could
catch the scent of food in them. As they got some they instantly ran off trying
to avoid their hungry friends but some smaller friendly battles appeared and
often they ended with them both sharing the food. It was time for a final swim
before heading to the town nearby. It was a short and fast swim as the shore
were perhaps not longer away then 100 meters.
Soon they ran along the beach past Izam's and Messabs as they could see the town
appearing not far away. There was a small plateau before they reached the
stables, the Mektoubs gave a wondering look at the massive bunch of Homins that
was approaching, even the stable boy stopped brushing and looked at them. It
must have been a rare sight to see so many new faces at once. But they were all
very welcome, even the guards stopped and welcomed them to Windermeer.

Finally there everyone relaxed as much as they could. They were now back in the
safe lands of Aeden and it had been a tough journey for them. But they had all
come through and made it. They had all seen the world, the one known and now
they just had a short run before they could get back home into the safe haven of
Fairhaven.
Drakfot took a seat next to Rikka while Crythos walked off to the merchants
looking at what they had in stock. Both Rikka and Drakfot combed their hair to
get the most of the water out and then tied them in knots as they had them
before swimming. The water had been a good remedy for them as if it had washed
off all the bad from the journey. And now they were sitting there just waiting
for Crythos to join them again.

"Say Drakfot, have you had any sweets since you got here ?" Rikka suddenly
asked.

"No, nit since I left the earlier lands." Drakfot said while remembering some
sweets that Ba'Gan Brermen had handed her at one time when she had completed a
task. It had been some small things whom had a very sweet taste and she recalled
that she had liked them very much.

"Well, I definitely think that we have deserved some , don't you ?" Rikka
replied and stood up dragging Drakfot to a raw material merchant.

"Good day, what can I help you with?" The merchant asked Rikka as they
approached.

"You have some Shooki seeds ? Candied please." Rikka said. Drakfot was wondering
what kind of seeds these were.

"Yes, we have a few left. How much do you want?" The merchant said while
grabbing a small bag and a scoop.

"We'll take the rest!" Rikka said happily. "We have just returned from a travel
around Atys and are eager for some rest and some sweets."

"Wow, well then you have surely earned this treat." The merchant replied with a
smile while handing over the bag getting some dappers from Rikka.

They then walked back to where they had sat down and Rikka opened the bag
holding it so that Drakfot could then reach and grab some of its content. They
did indeed look like the ones she had gotten from Ba'Gan Brermen and also tasted
like them. Eating them brought back some memories of the learning island she had
spent her first time on and she though of how much she had to learn then and
thought of how much she still had to learn here.

"Such strange place, full of wisdom and knowledge" She said silently to herself.

"Uhm, whath hwas thath Dakfoth?" Rikka asked with her mouth full of sweets.

[mugendo]

I have read several sections of the story and I do like your writing style, I will read all the story over time..but not tonight