Wander for a Purpose

[Deleted]

Not everyday did you get sucked into a black hole...(or was it more of a "light" hole?) and ended up wandering some sort of alternate Elibe where just about everything was different from where you knew it. It also was a rare occurance to have a Taguel within your company as you traveled around in places you "thought" you've known well. Well...to be fair, Veigue hardly ever traveled in Southern Elibe much back at home, as they were in the mountain range areas with some wildlife. But something felt off, yet oddly relaxing and calming about this place. Unlike home, he didn't exactly feel too much chaotic energy within the air as far as his journey took him so far. Was this the Elibe he dreamed of for so long? Even with the unknown race to him, they seem to adapt fairly well in the world along with the rest of the world's residents...not to mention he's been hearing a lot about Dragons. The fact that no kind of war whatsoever was erupting across the land gave him a calm breeze of peace throughout his body.

After all, he still didn't know how he even got here...and as he assumed before, he could either be in some eternal dream or trapped within purgatory, needing to find a way to accept his death. After all, if his arch nemesis possibly died from his fall into the river, how come he didn't perish too? If anything, he was told that he was found on the ground, about to slide off into the same river, so if he hit the ground, then shouldn't he be the main one dead? Either that, or what his sister said was true about him being as tough as nails. Hey, he even surprises himself sometimes. But that was besides the point. Was everything here an illusion to make him see some sort of truth? Who knows.

Guess there was no need to think about such things until it was time to cross that bridge. For now, he just had to get a feel of this place and eventually start to find some leads on where he could find Kenji, his family's katana. He really hoped it washed up somewhere and someone happened to find the thing. It was quite the unique blade, so it shouldn't have to be too complicated to find. Sighing at the thought, he probably just needed to take a load off by having a rest in the safety of the nearby village just past a visible mountain, for he was still traveling on a trail within a sea of trees. As such, he looked back to the young taguel girl.

"...You holding up all right, Kaelu? We can take a breather here if you're tired." He admittedly wasn't knowledgeable about Taguels' stamina and endurance, though asking someone if they're fine was just a habit of his.

[Garrett]

Exploring wasn't always about charting unexplored regions and finding interesting ruins and such, sometimes it was about reaffirming where things are and revisiting areas that are already on the map. That was the purpose of this mission specifically, and since it was such a simple and easy mission there were barely any men in the group along with Garrett. In fact they didn't really need a healer along for the ride, since there was almost no danger involved, but the cleric insisted. He wanted to see the area, and knew that if he went with an expedition it would be much easier to travel without fear of collapsing in the middle of nowhere or getting murdered by bandits of slaughtered by monsters or anything. They were already done with the mission by now, it was just rechecking the roads on their maps after all and the fact they made it to the village was proof enough everything was still fine.

Garrett was, as usual, just a few steps behind however. The men were eager to get it over with because they wanted to get back and do something more interesting, so they rushed and hurried. A speed that the cleric couldn't quite travel at easily. As such, he was a bit behind the pact and still traveling the roads while they were off in the town gallivanting and whatnot. Still he wasn't upset or anything, he was used to this happening, so he sort of slugged along the road, taking in the sights he's never seen before. Even if it was old business to everyone else, it was new to him.

He saw a few people up on the road ahead of him, and his heart jumped for a minute. He hurried quickly, only to slow when he realized they weren't anyone he knew. Which should have been obvious even at a distance, but perhaps he was just being a little too hopeful for his own good. Still it couldn't hurt to ask them if they've seen the rest of his group come this way, it would be dreadful if it turned out he was going the completely wrong direction.

"Hey." He called out, hurrying up his pace a bit and trying to get closer to the duo. "Excuse me." He called again before reaching them, almost out of breath. "Excuse... me..." He repeated between huffs. "I... I'm sorry for bothering you..." He said as he caught his breath. "Did you perhaps see any people pass this way?"

[Kaelu]

After the battle for the village, Kaelu didn't know what to do or where to go. She was as new to anywhere as she was to just about everywhere and there was no helping that. As a result, Kaelu simply took to following after one of her newfound friends and companions. If she had a choice of all of them, she picked the one that was the most interesting, the enigma of the group. So it was that with bells tinkling in her golden hair she followed the steps of Veigue from the village going somewhere without really knowing where.

"Why? Do I look tired? Are you tired? I'm just dandy!" Kaelu giggled. She bounded up alongside Veigue then. Being behind him allowed her to watch his back and there was something about a person's back that could sometimes tell you a lot about them. What Kaelu saw in Veigue's was that he was feeling pretty alone and very lost. She didn't know nor understand why and yet she didn't have the courage to ask him why that might be so. It was already somewhat presumptive of her to think it was okay to follow after him. She stopped abruptly suddenly, reaching out and taking Veigue's arm as her ears twitched, one raising higher as she cocked her head and said, "Wait! You hear something?"

The breathless voice was louder after a couple more calls. Kaelu looked over her shoulder as the cleric came closer and looking somewhat travelworn, but perhaps no more worse for wear. She let go of Veigue and regarded this new person. "Bother? Bother? Not a bother to me I don't think. Veigue, is this a bother?" She looked back searchingly at her travel companion. He would know better than she, wouldn't he? If they had passed anyone, she was only vaguely able to recall and even then she could just as well be remembering about the day before and not the day of. She chewed on her lower lip in thought as she did her best to rack her brain for the right answer to give him.

[Deleted]

"Hah, I see. No, I'm fine. We'll keep going then." It actually didn't hurt having Kaelu along. At first, he didn't even know why she started following him in the first place. However, having someone cheerful around on your journey at least helped ease some tension off the shoulders. The young taguel was quite energetic and always seemingly in a good mood...which reminded him a lot about a certain friend who seemed overjoyed about everything she encountered...or whatever dared to stand in her innocently destructive path. He actually couldn't help but giggle to himself for a bit. He wondered what both of his friends were doing right now. Either way, they were away from him and Jaquio, so their safety was what he was more concerned about.

He stopped in his tracks as Kaelu took hold of his arm suddenly, just about ready to stretch his arm over to his blade. However, it was no need for alarm as a young man came out of nowhere and out of breath. The swordsman looked back to Kaelu for a second before looking back to the fatigued stranger. "Hah, it's not a problem. Anyway, no...I haven't seen anyone come this way." He spoke up completely to the stranger. "What's going on? You seem pretty uneasy..."

If it was something he could help out with, then there was no bother in it. He didn't want to try and meddle in the affairs of others in this world, but it proved problematic to fight his habits.

[Garrett]

He continued to breath heavily, a bit longer then what should really be normal. It was like a wave of exhaustion slammed into him headfirst and knocked all the wind out of his body. Which was something that happened from time to time, he's been marching all day after all so it was only natural. He should try to push on forward until town before stopping though, it was just... a bit harder then he had thought it would be. "Oh, good..." He said with a tired smile looking at the woman. They seemed to be a pair of travelers, it was good that he wasn't bothering them though... He hates that feeling that he gets when it feels like he's intruding, or interrupting someone doing something. It was that gross sinky feeling that is like your hear fell into a trapdoor or something.

Still what they said was not particularly comforting. "No one... huh... Of course..." He tried to sigh, but the whole heavy breathing thing made it difficult since it was basically the same thing he was already doing. "Alright, thank you..." He still had that weary looking smile, but waved them off. "I'm fine don't worry... I'm always like this..." The trail they traveled was decorated with trees, and he found one to lean up against, gently holding his chest as his breaths stayed deep and hard. "Just a little outta shape... I guess..." He chuckled before wincing slightly. "I'm gonna rest here for a minute..." He smiled a slightly pained smile. "Thanks for your help... I wish you good luck on your travels..." He tried to keep smiling, and while it was successful to a point, it was hard to keep it up. He just needed to keep it up until the two left, then he could rest as much as he needed to. He didn't want to make these two strangers worry about him, he already felt bad enough when people he knew did.

[Kaelu]

"Oh? Okay then! Onward we go!" Kaelu replied energetically. She bounced ahead and then returned back to Veigue's side. She was not going to be the leader of their duo, they'd only end up lost somewhere random, instinctively she knew it was best to be a follower. A follower of a larger group would be even better, but two was far better than one. Kaelu would have hated to have ended up alone.

She peered between Veigue and their new companion. Instantly she wondered who he was looking for. Was he lost? Was he looking for someone? Was he running away from someone? There were far too many possibilities, but those three were foremost in her mind. "Is it really okay? Really... um... who?" Kaelu could not recall if he had introduced himself. So many breaths in between and that was hard to understand from time to time. She glanced back to Veigue, "He didn't say, did he? Did you?" She looked back at the stranger. Surely he would tell them who he was, wouldn't he? They weren't bad people at all and if he was being chased down by someone than they could help him. She would at the very least.

[Deleted]

Veigue remained rather silent for a moment, looking at the cleric from the corner of his eye as he sat to rest as he told them. Out of shape? No, he felt like something else was up with him. He once again had the thought of just nodding his head and keep on going so he wouldn't meddle within the young man's business. But he could look at him and tell that the newcomer wasn't exactly someone who's battle ready. If some troublemakers were to ambush him while he was out here all alone looking aimlessly for...whoever he's seeking, he'd have a difficult time defending himself...and leaving someone behind with that possibility hanging over his head just didn't feel right, as it would go against his honor and what he stood for.

Simply shaking his head in response to Kaelu, he didn't recall the cleric introducing himself either, though he figured he didn't want to because he was planning going on alone anyway. Finally deciding to walk back towards the resting cleric, he crossed his arms as he looked into another direction. "...While I'm unfamiliar with these parts, it'd be dangerous if you continue on like this...and alone. Just about anyone could get caught off guard out here by thieves or brigands. How about I accompany you for a while?" That was about the best and only thing he could offer. After all, he's taken protection jobs before...except this time, he's not really caring about money. He was just concerned for the safety of the cleric. "We don't mind helping out...right, Kaelu?" He tilted his head towards her.

As such, he finally looked back to the young man. "I'm Veigue...and I've already introduced my little friend here."

[Garrett]

"Huh? No, n-no... I-I'm fi-fine." He was stuttering now. It was obvious whatever it was going on he couldn't hide it very well as his hand clutched the fabric at his chest in a tight ball, biting his lip and cringing in what clearly appears to be pain. This wasn't the first time this happened, in fact it happens when he exerts his self too hard. It was the sort of thing his parents were afraid of and didn't want him traveling for, his heart was almost like it was spasming in his chest as his breaths became rigid and painful. It felt tight, and each breath felt like it was tugging on some wound trying to heal, sending pain through his body. It'll be fine... It'll be fine... It'll pass in a few seconds like it always does. Still each breath was pain and it felt like he was breathing in glass. Still it was at one of the worst times ever, he was accustomed to the pain he's felt it his whole life, it was never pleasant or anything but he could endure it. It was the fact he was doing this in front of some people that really hurt, he tried his hardest to appear at least semi-competent in front of people, it's depressing when his very body tries to undermine him at every turn.

"I-I'm sorry." He had a sort of twisted smile, a forced grin that was barely withstand the pain he was feeling. This lasted a lot longer then was comfortable, but eventually it passed. Which was a relief, that one was actually not that bad. He's had ones so intense it's caused him to collapse, but this one was over and done with relatively quickly. The problem was now his entire body ached and was sore like he just finished a 10k marathon. "I'm sorry you had to see that." His breathing grew more normal and controlled, and while it still hurt it wasn't anything like it was before. Still it did little to help his shattered pride as his face grew flush as he looked at the duo near him. He left his spot resting against the tree, feeling completely humiliated.

"I'm Garrett." He introduced himself, since they introduced themselves and all. "Don't worry about me though, I'm fine now. I can make it to town by myself, where the people I'm supposed to be meeting should be." He had a tired look on his face. "I'm just a bit on the sick side. I must have forgotten to take my medicine this morning." He didn't, but he wanted to give some kind of excuse for his actions that seemed believable. He cringed a bit as he tried to gather himself together. He tried to take a few steps, it hurt but it was bearable. It just cut his already lackluster speed to near zero.

He looked at the two with a sort of nervous chuckle. Well now, they probably weren't going to leave him alone after that spectacle. If they were the type to, they probably would have left by now before the whole thing started. Instead he worked his mind into a way where he wasn't too much of a burden. He hated being a burden. "If you want to help me, I have some gold though. Even if it's just to town. I guess maybe I could use a little help." He didn't have much, but it was enough to pay for such a simple little mercenary mission.

[Kaelu]

"You don't look fine. Nope, not one bit!" Kaelu insisted. She pressed in a little closer to him, her head tilting to one side for a moment as she listened closely to him. He wasn't breathing right and the color in his face was right and he was holding to his chest which just could not be right. That was not what she thought meant someone was fine. She shook her head at him and cried back to him, "No need to apologize! You don't want to or mean to feel this way right? Right? I don't think so. You didn't mean for us to see, but we did and that can't be so bad. Now we know for sure that you shouldn't be left alone." She looked back to Veigue. He appeared to be of the same mind as he offered to accompany the cleric. That was almost her own idea, it was just that Veigue beat her to it. She nodded in agreement and enthusiastically added, "I like helping!"

Garrett? Oh, so his name was Garrett. That should be easy to remember. Well, easy in the sense that if she were to have him in her company for some time then she would not forget it so quickly. Bouncing in place and clapping her hands together like a delighted little child she cheerfully told him, "Yes, Yes! I'm Kaelu, bunny Taguel happily at your service!" The bells in her hair tinkled brightly as she shook her head. Her next words bounced from one thought to another, "I don't want go- ... wait, what is gold? Do we want gold, Veigue? Hey~ I'm not that little! I'm just a bit shorter than you is all." She pouted back at Veigue, arms crossed over her chest for the time being. She slowly came to reach up and stroke one of her golden-furred ears. Her mood was already beginning to change over to being bright and cheery as she eased herself by the stroking of her own ear.

[Deleted]

"No, it's...fine." He said in response to witnessing the fatigue get to the young man. He really couldn't just leave him alone after seeing that though. But if the next town was in the direction they were already headed, then it would have been best if they all remained together anyways. The guy certainly needed the help though, as he introduced himself and made it apparent that his health was naturally a problem for him. Whoever he's looking for, Veigue couldn't help but wonder why they would leave Garrett behind like this to make it to a meeting point all on his own...if that was even the case. Just another thing he shouldn't stick his nose into.

It was then that gold was seemed to be offered for helping, which before he could give him a response in that regard, Kaelu posed her own question, followed by her getting a bit worked up over his "little" comment. "...Hah hah, sorry. Really, gold is just currency to buy necessities and all sorts of things, which..." He then turned from the taguel and trailed his sentence back to Garrett to give him his answer. "You don't have to worry about paying me. While I do mercenary work, I won't charge you for helping you to a town. Just making sure you make it to town in one piece is all the payment I need. That, and I'm not exactly taking on jobs right now..." Yeah, what was the point of working in a world you knew next to nothing about? He had no terrible living situation either, so unless he was stuck here for a LONG time, he was going be on "vacation" for a while.

[Garrett]

Well now he was just feeling kinda like a burden. He knew people, and he knew that if he kept trying to push the gold onto them they would only grow irritated. It didn't do much for his pride, but he'd rather not bother these folk anymore then he has to. He used his staff a bit like a walking stick, putting his weight onto it with his steps so it was like he had three legs, and therefore a bit more stable and a little less of a pain to walk. He smiled at them, feeling a bit better just knowing that at least someone was kind enough to care about a sick kid like him. "You two are too kind." He said with a grin, slightly hunched over his staff. "You probably deserve an explanation. I'm a cleric, with the exploration guild. We were checking the roads and updating our maps when I fell behind. We were supposed to meet in the town up ahead. As you can see... I'm not in the greatest health." He said with a sort of pitying chuckle.

"Sometimes when I push myself too hard, like just now, I'll get chest pains which make it hard to breath or move for a little bit. I'll be fine soon, I promise, it just kinda hurts now is all." He continued to smile at them. It wasn't a big deal, it's just how he was. Some people can't whistle, he can't do any activity more vigorous then a short jog. It makes things a pain, but he's come to terms with it. Really he's just happy to be out in the world. "It's nice to meet you Veigue and Kaelu." He hobbled forward at a sort of broken speed that probably resembled an old man's walk then that of a young man's. "I'm lucky you two were here, sorry about the trouble though."

[Kaelu]

"Gold sounds pretty important for you guys, huh?" Kaelu remarked once she learned what gold was and what it was used for. There had been no gold among the Warren. If there was something that they wanted or needed, but did not have they could usually borrow it from another or barter for it. It was a good system and this gold was never necessary. Kaelu didn't dwell long on the topic, however intriguing it was, there were more interesting things coming from Veigue and Garrett both. Mercenary was one, Cleric was another, and neither word sounded remotely familiar to her rabbity ears.

She looked between one and the other, trying to keep up and puzzle through the conversation some. She could only make one conjecture, "So being a Mercenary and being a Cleric... those are jobs? And you get gold from doing those jobs? Just what kind of things does a Cleric or a Mercenary do?" Kaelu was asking the pair of them just as much as she was musing aloud to herself. Humans were so complicated! Clothing and weapons and books and all sorts of things she was just coming to know about and she might never truly understand any of it. Oh well, she figured it would all make sense to her someday and maybe by then she'd have found her way back to her Warren.

"Luck is a good thing to have! I have it, too, so we have something in common and that's nice. Isn't it nice?" Kaelu cheerily made her way back to the road. The conversation about gold and jobs flew from her mind once Garrett spoke of luck. Kaelu believed in luck almost as much as she believed in justice. She giggled and lifted a foot to point at as she explained, "Rabbits feet, you know! That and Veigue is letting me follow him, I get lost easily, you see."

[Deleted]

So that explained why he was left behind, which meant him being out here alone wasn't intentional. That was good. Veigue simply nodded his head as he pondered on how to go from there. "I see. It really was a good thing we happened to come this way then. I've been hearing that this road in particular is subject to violence and theft among no-go thieves, even in daylight like this. I could see why though, since we're deep within the mountains and it'd be impossible to call out for help." ...Which didn't explain why he took this road in the first place. It may have been because it was the only route he could take on foot to reach another town beyond the mountains. He didn't want to jinx them all though with a possible attack, so he decided to leave it at that as he smiled slightly. "...It's a pleasure as well, Garrett. Take the time you need to catch your breath fully. We may have needed a break ourselves sooner or later anyways."

When Kaelu posed her next question, he resisted the urge to chuckle again, for she seemed to be quite the curious type. Guess some taguels weren't familiar with the customs of everyday human life. He wouldn't know though. Rubbing the back of his head as he didn't know where to start, he just allowed his lips to move on their own. Well, um...I'll leave the cleric bit to Garrett if he wants, but Mercenaries...well, we're sort of freelance. We undergo all kinds of jobs within the field of combat. Being hired to chase off bandits, protecting others while they travel like what we're doing for Garrett...all that kind of stuff for a fee of gold in return." It was pretty hard for him to explain all the basics to where she'd understand, as he never had to really explain a mercenary's work before.

[Garrett]

The girl seemed awfully oblivious to the way human society worked, which surprised him. It was clear from her words and her ears she was a taguel, but Garrett never assumed that they were so different from humans. Maybe that was a little silly, since he's already met a dragon and she seemed completely confused about human society as well, though for other reasons. Garrett weakly smiled at the energetic girl as she ran circles around him with her words, him leaning on his staff support and unable to keep up entirely. She asked questions quickly, and shifted from topic to topic with little slowing down. Garrett was still weak from his episode so he was more then happy to let Veigue speak as he slowly move with them.

"A cleric's... job. It's to help people." He spoke with a soft voice, still tired but not letting it stop him. "This staff I have it... Well when I put my magic into it, it responds by using healing magic. So if you have any injuries... or anything I can help them close and mend them. I travel with a group of people who sometimes do dangerous things... so I can heal them if they get hurt from time to time. I don't get paid a lot... but I get to travel. It's dangerous for me to travel alone, as you've seen." He gave a tired sounding laugh, pitying his self, but smiling all the same.

If Garrett had the time, or energy, he'd try to explain how gold works but he was really too tired to manage it. "Sometimes dangerous things happen... roads get closed off, we get attack by bandits or creatures while traveling, we explore ruins that could have traps... all sorts of things really. So it's better to be safe then sorry, that's why they hire me."