BZPRPG: Po-Wahi

IC: "What is the old-saying?" said Lepidran, "When strength fails, knowledge is all that remains? It is something like that."IC: "Ah, early morning over the Motara Desert. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen," Clo'on said, taking a great lungful of air, "When the sun hits the sand or a carving just right."He turned to the Vortixx he was guiding, "I understand your people are makers as well, though in a different field to the Po-Matoran."

IC:"My people have specialized in the invention of advanced tools and weapons..." Kohra said, without thinking too much about what she was saying. Wait, how could she know that? She knew from those few run-ins with others of her kind, that they had several technical gimmicks that went beyond anything any Matoran had built on the island. Knowing about her whole species...that had been an instinctive answer. She chided herself silently. She needed to watch her tongue. Who knew what else would make its way from her subconscious and get her into trouble if she couldn't explain the source of her knowledge.She tried herself at another smile at Clo'on. "It is fascinating that the Po-Koronans, for all their strength and skill with stone seem to be drawn more to being artists instead of engineers and architects."

Ic: Stannis stepped inside the narrow grotto the temple had. To his left was a slot and a carving with a riddle, and he toyed with it for a moment while the others tried to see if they could open the door that loomed ahead of them. He didn't pay much attention, but when he looked back, he was in for a surprise. "Everybody, stand back!" Atiel warned as he raised his hammer above his head. Before Stannis could stop him, his heavy weapon struck at the stone door with a reverberating crack. A quick but violent quake erupted suddenly, and sand poured around the temple and seeped into the entrance, but stopped short of the matoran's feet.Finally, everyone looked at the door. Not a scratch, a crack or a missing crystal was evident on the door. "Maybe if he hit it harder?" one of the matoran suggested, but Stannis shook his head."We can't risk it. This door is sealed, either elementally or spiritually, and we need more than brute strength to breach its doors. It is doubtless that this is important, but we must find another way. Let's go to Po-Koro and speak with the turaga; maybe Onewa can give us answers on this. The elder knows of us and I, and I believe Aurax was sent by him, too," he said, gesturing to the Po-Matoran. "This knowledge will be useful for us when we ask him for information."

OOC: Umm... Aurax is a Cy-Matoran (Matoran of Crystal). Don't worry: everyone makes mistakes. :PIC, Aurax: Aurax was amazed that the door to the temple did not fall under Atiel's hammer. "Yes. We should go to the Turaga. Maybe he'll tell us of the temple."

IC: "Why it is the fine view of course!" Clo'on replied enthusiastically, "The broad horizons broaden the mind. We are given too much to think on so express it in terms of art."

IC:Kohra's brow furrowed slightly. There was a hint of good-natured sarcasm in her voice as she said: "I can see where nothing but dust and sand all day would make one look to alternate ways to pass the time..."

IC: "Thats not what I meant," said Clo'on, his voice carrying the slight hint of reproach, "In places like Onu-Koro or Ta-Koro, or even Le-Koro they wall themselves in with barriers. Caves, fortress walls, jungle limits, they all try to box things up. In the expanse of the desert your mind is free to wander, to think. You come up with wider thoughts."

IC(Zand): The Vortixx wandered through the desert, completely lost.OOC: Zand up for interaction.

IC - NPC - Finding TaokiA Ta-Matoran burst into the bar where Taoki had temporarily taken up residence. He was rather nervous. Unlike the others, this one had read his scroll. After this, he was getting lost. He jumped into the seat beside Taoki. This guy matched the description to the letter."No time to explain. An army is forming in Ga-Koro, of only selected members. You have been selected. If you accept, go there." he said quickly.He burst out of his seat, dropping the scroll. 'Kill the messenger' was visible on it. No wonder he had been so nervous.

IC: Taoki - Po-Koro BarTaoki looked up from his work before standing up. He could check out the village. One built on lilypads? Perhaps not the safest, but cool anyways, "I won't kill you." He said rather pathetically before flipping his weapons into their place. Murder somebody for no reason? Not a chance.Now survival.That was a different story.OOC:Taoki to Ga-Wahi

Ic: "Well then," Stannis declared, "let's get going." With little shoulder nudging, Stannis led the others outside and squinted in the orange light of dusk. "With any luck, we can make it to the village or a ranching settlement before it gets dark and rest. Well deserved rest, too," he finished as he started walking in the direction the stone pillars in the sand directed him.

OOC: Thama from Ga-wahiIC Thama:Thama was running. Well, running wasn't exactly the word for it. She was teleporting and running, moving quickly over the beach, slowly only a little to move past the rocky formations that got in her way. Her pursuer had still not revealed themselves. This was not a good sign. I need to be ready, she thought. Need to get to a good position. If I can just get to high ground or something. She stole a glance back to check on the being chasing her. They were nowhere to be found. She was beginning to think about this as she turned her head forward, only to run right into her pursuer's outstretched fist.She went down, her head buzzing, trying to get her bearings. She blinked to get her vision to clear and rolled to the side to avoid the stomp. Not a good start, She managed to push herself up to a standing position, facing her opponent. They were wearing a black cloak that hid their features despite the many holes and rips that covered it. The hood region was filled with darkness except for the pair of red eyes that glowed in the gloom. They were happy eyes, not joyful, but pleased like one would be if they were a cat who had caught the mouse they were chasing. The eyes of a predator that had caught its prey."I take it you're here to kill me?" Thama asked the being. "I mean, that's what you tried to do the last time we saw each other. Really, I was hoping you had moved on. Found something else to do. Renounced Makuta, gotten a job, died, whatever you wanted. But I guess that you being here means that we're still doing this.""I'm afraid that you are correct in that we are still after you. We have been following you for quite some time actually. We are not here to kill you on sight though. If we were, we would have already. Instead, we have pleaded with our master that he give us a chance to turn you again, so that we can spare you. We still care about you, you know. It's just that if you don't join us you will have to die.""You can't expect me to come join you. I thought I made it very clear when I was with you last that I wanted nothing else to do with you or the team ever again.""I do indeed remember. As I recall, you blew me into a wall and then sent a large twister full of sharp rocks at me. It was quite painful, I'll have you know."At this she laughed in spite of herself. "We did have some good times. Now, the answer is still no, so can we start fighting each other yet? I have places to be, good and justice and the toa code to uphold, and you and the others are only going to remind me of my conviction to that."The cloaked figure seemed sad at this answer. They let out a sigh, knowing that things were always going to come to this. He pulled his hood down, revealing the scarred kakama he wore. "Thama, you really are a pain when you're self-righteous like that." He drew his sword from its belt-mounted scabbard. "I'm going to enjoy beating that out of you.""Well then," Thama replied, "If I'm to have it beaten out of me, we'd best hurry and start this fight. Really Kalence, you were always such a gentleman. I'll enjoy listening to you politely ask me to stop shooting arrows into your chest."For a moment, neither moved. After a long pause, they were both off in a blur. The fight had begun.

IC (Naru):Somewhere in the middle of the great Po-Wahi desert, there was a brief flash of purple and orange light. It was followed by a hissing sound and the smell of various gases breaking down. Naru looked over the result of her handiwork. A sheet of glass now covered the desert sand, formed by the stone particles being melted by intense heat. The glass reflected the sun and caused rays of it to bounce off the female Toa's orange and white armor.Plasma is a wonderful thing, she thought.Despite being exposed to the desert sun, Naru didn't feel hot at all; a side effect of her element. Her heat resistance wasn't quite as powerful as that of a Ta-Matoran, but it was more than enough to tolerate "simple sunlight" as she called it. Occasionally she would gaze up at the sun and imagine herself to have that huge ball of plasma at her hands to control. She would always end up giggling in childish glee at this thought.As much as she enjoyed practicing with her element, Naru quickly got bored with the desert. It was just sand and rock as far as the eye could see, and the few Rahi that roamed the dunes weren't much of a challenge. Makuta didn't seem to care about controlling a region where there was nothing to control anyways. Unfortunately for Naru, the Matoran of Po-Koro didn't allow her to "practice" inside the village, given her element's tendency to melt even solid rock in seconds. At this point the Toa really didn't feel like wandering aimlessly around anymore, however, so she decided to head back to the village anyways.Naru hadn't been traveling for long before she spotted a lone wanderer crossing the desert. She was a bit surprised to see that it was a Vortixx, as she hadn't met more than one or two of them before. Intrigued, she waved, then jogged over to the stranger."Hello," she said, "I thought I was the only person wandering around here alone. Who are you?"OOC: That's Zand, Nitro.

IC:"I see..." Kohra said, tentatively. She hadn't meant to insult the Toa. Although she didn't care, staying polite only had benefits at this point. Don't get caught. As usual, her dark passenger was invoking the smart thing to do. Antagonizing the Toa of stone wasn't smart. Especially here, on his home-turf, where he had pretty much the whole Motara at his command if he chose to."Well, I guess if you are wandering in a place such as this, your thoughts will start to wander too, eventually. So tell me, Clo'on: What wide thoughts have you come up with?" The Vortixx asked.

IC(Zand): "I am Zand Giels. Strategist. And who the blast are you?"

Ic: "Well then," Stannis declared, "let's get going." With little shoulder nudging, Stannis led the others outside and squinted in the orange light of dusk. "With any luck, we can make it to the village or a ranching settlement before it gets dark and rest. Well deserved rest, too," he finished as he started walking in the direction the stone pillars in the sand directed him.

IC, Aurax: "Good! Because I'm very tired, interestlingly. Usually I'm only tired when I work, but this has gotten me all tuckered out. But let me quickly finish this sketch of the temple first." Aurax finished the sketch and put his book away. "There, all finshed!"

IC: "That one of the surest paths to happiness is the happiness of others," Clo'on said, sagely

IC Thama:Thama was fighting for her life. With motivation like that it wouldn't be surprising to know that she was doing well. Kalence had the advantage at close range, yes, but She had the ability to teleport, and he had to figure out where she had vanished to before he could close the distance again. This gave her time to fire arrows at him, which he slashed apart or dodged around. It was a stalemate so far. He would run up and slash, she would warp away and fire arrows, he would deflect or dodge them, he would run up, over and over. The fight would go nowhere if neither opponent changed it up. It was at this point that Kalence began hurling fireballs.Thama had fought alongside Kalence and was well-acquainted with his fighting style. He was an up close warrior, running this way and that with his mask, sending out quick strikes. He also shot fire. It was an effective style. Thama was more of a distance fighter. She stayed back, peppered the enemy at range, and when they came close she would warp and do it again. Her strategy involved wearing the enemy out so they made a mistake. Unfortunately, against an opponent who could get clpse in an instant, she couldn't work her usual plan. It was time to go offense.The next time she warped away, she didn't fire her arrows. Kalence turned, saw the drawn bow and entered a guard stance, only to find Thama suddenly right in front of him and three arrows in his chest. She then vanished past him, turning to face him with more arrows drawn."Gah! Karz Thama, what was that?" he shouted, plucking the arrows from his chest. He winced as each came out. "For a toa full of honor that was pretty low. And believe me, I know low.""If you know low so well, why are dueling me like this?" she countered. "You don't seem to be fighting me in a dirty style at all. You're still just as refined as you were before, so I'm not sure how using strategy is an issue.""You see Thama, there's something you haven't thought about. I'm glad you chose this particular location actually. Or rather, I did when I punched you. Here we are, the two of us on a beach with the waves by our side, plenty of rocks to the other side. It is just so peaceful. There's nothing around for a while. It makes it so easy to cheat."This last statement worried her. "Cheating you say?" she said, starting to worry. "I'm not sure how you could cheat on your own while in plain view of me unless..." She trailed off as the answer hit her. She turned to look to the side but it was too late. A huge wave crashed into her, sending her off her feet and carrying her over into the rock formation with a crash. She fell to the ground, unable to move, for the breath had been knocked out of her. She slowly turned her head to see the attacked she knew would be there. It was a teal toa, orange eyes gleaming through the eye slits of the hau she wore."Harynthia," Thama sputtered, coughing water out of her lungs. "I should have known you'd all join the fun."Now Thama, you should have known we couldn't just let Kalence have all the fun. Besides, you know he could have messed up along the way, and then where would we be?" Harynthia laughed. She walked over to Thama and kicked her in the ribs. "You know, you really did cause us trouble that time long ago," she began. Really, your escape meant that we had failed our master immediately after joining him. We could have been killed for our failure. You almost cost of everything" Angry now, she punched Thama in the face and stomped on her. "It's a good thing you decided not to join us now. I mean, now, after we kill you, we can return to our master successful and all will be forgiven. And then we can do something other than follow you. You're really not that interesting to follow."With Harynthia busy talking and the pause in attacks Thama had enough time to get her breath back and slowly push herself to her feet. Kalence and Harynthia turned to watch their target rise. Thama knew she couldn't take both of them, especially not in the state she was in. Not with her weapons at least.The area they were in was indeed an advantage to her opponents with the easy access to water and the dry conditions. But the sandy beach also gave Thama a useful tool. She drew her bow and loaded an arrow, pointing it at her assailants. "I'm afraid that I don't feel like dying at the moment, so I'm just going to have to disable you first," she said to them."You know we can't let you do that Thama," Kalence replied."Too late; already started," was all she said. The ground between the fighters suddenly burst up in a giant cloud of dust, with no way to see through. It was time to retake the offensive.

IC(Zand): "I am Zand Giels. Strategist. And who the blast are you?"

IC:"I'm Naru, Toa of Plasma. I'm using the desert for practice, since the Po-Matoran weren't happy about me melting their stonework. Strategist, you say? What are you doing out here?"

IC:The Vortixx kept walking next to the Toa of stone. "Hmm, that is an interesting thought." she said, but didn't comment any further on it. Not because she had nothing to say about Clo'on's statement, she could have said plenty to him. How he and his fellow Toa and those little Matoran were self-righteous in their judgement of what was good and bad, always invoking their great spirit whenever they ran out of rational arguments. A great spirit, that indubitably had either left or seized to exist. But bringing that up would have inevitably led to an argument and she was not planning on having one of those. Besides, what point could she make that would change his opinion? The Toa's convictions were as rock-solid as his element. It was better to change the subject."How long do you reckon, is it going to take to get to Onu-Wahi?" she asked. The Toa of stone looked at her a bit puzzled. She recognized the look. "I usually travel by myself and off the known paths." she explained.OOC: It is actually tough sometimes to play her in such a way that she is both serving Makuta and still convinced that she isn't evil.

IC: "The path I am taking us along should take us the better part of the morning. It's not the shortest route," he admitted, "But that means we're less likely to be attacked. Rahi touched by the Makuta's shadow often lurk on the faster byways, seeking to waylay travellers such as you and I."He shuddered at the mention of infected Rahi. He remembered on time he and a few others had been attacked by a trio of sand Tarakava. Not all of them had walked away from that particular skirmish...

IC:"Getting waylaid is why I travel away from the known paths." Kohra nodded in agreement. She noticed the Toa looked troubled, as if from a bad memory. "You seem to have some experience with infected Rahi?" she tentatively asked. She herself did not fear the Rahi at all. She had a good reason for that too. One she intended to keep to herself.

IC: "It is never a good experience when tangling with infected Rahi," Clo'on said, bowing his head, "Its one of the reasons I showed so much concern over your arm. You would be a danger to yourself and others if it really was the Madness."

IC(Zand): "I am looking for something to do. Do you have something to do right now, because I could help. Or something."

Ic: The matoran troupe entered Po-Koro's gates just as the long shadow of night reached it, and only instants after they passed through, the stone doors were shut behind them by the guards. The city was sealed for the night."First order of business: find the inn," Stannis declared. With a little help from Cyrax and a local, they found the inn and quickly registered. Stannis declared that he would pay for everybody's fee that night, stating that they would all have ample opportunities to pay in the future, but for now it was his honor for them."Righty then," the innkeeper said, giving them their keys. "If you'd like, we have a restaurant connected to us. Maybe you are all as hungry as you are weary?"It didn't take them long to decide to go and relax with a meal, and soon they were all seated at a corner booth, scanning the menu.Ooc: Now would be a perfect time for others to drill Stannis for answers.

IC:"Do? No, not really. I'm bored, mostly, especially after being out here for so long."Naru shielded her eyes against the strong sun and tried to spot Po-Koro. It was still a long way to go."I was just going back to the village, but if you were going somewhere else I think that would be better for me."

IC: Dece was not in a trusting mood, and so he decided not to sample anything. The Fe-Matoran simply won't know what poisons could lurk in this city, and how they might affect him. It was better not to taste anything than to die a horrible and painful death. Still, his body was starting to crave food.As Dece searched the menu for any seaweed related meals, since he knew those were safe, he wondered again about their host. "So why did you decide to form this group?" the Fe-Matoran asked Stannis carefully, "What led you to this decision?" The Matoran didn't expect the truth of course, just as he wasn't completely sure of the three he had been with. The only things he could trust absolutely were acts he had personally witnessed, like Lepidran's knowledge of insect feelings and Nichou's carving skills. Still, it was important to learn more even if it was lies.

IC(Zand): "Well, I'm wandering, not really doing anything. I do suppose we should go to Po-koro...I assume that's the village you were talking about."

[iC: Stronin]While Henkka attempted to control Alex's mind, Stronin was attempting to free himself from the wall he had dropped on himself and the aforementioned time-travelling being. At first it had seemed to be a rather good idea, but he was having second thoughts, possibly because of the fact he was trapped under a lot of rubble. Well he had managed to trap his opponent as well, which was a good thing at least."I wish Naona was down here," he muttered. "Stone powers are rather convenient in this region."

IC Thama:Thama was hidden. All around her opponents, dust clouds formed, obscuring the area around them. Harynthia and Kalence could do nothing but wait for the clouds to subside. Off to the side, an arrow flew and impaled itself into Harynthia's shoulder. She dropped her lance to the ground and clutched at her shoulder while Kalence shot a fireball at that dust cloud. The fireball hit nothing as the dust cloud vanished with nothing behind it. Another arrow hit Kalence in the back and knocked him to his knees. He cursed under his breath. Thama knew she could stall them like this, moving from cloud to cloud, but she couldn't keep it up. There's too much concentration and effort involved. And if I make a mistake, I won't be able to recover.Kalence was getting annoyed. Thama had been firing arrows into him and Harynthia for a good while now, and there was little they could do. They had moved back-to-back to deflect arrows coming from all directions. He knew they could take her down. Harynthia was already preparing a wave to wash away the dust, and he could burn Thama to a crisp once she was in the open.Thama could tell it was happening soon. The waves were getting restless. It was only a matter of ti- and there it was. The wave washed over the area, Thama warping out of the way, knowing that Kalence would be protected from the wave by Harynthia. The waters subsided and she was already moving to avoid the blast of fire. It grazed her side and she found herself twirling back to ground, stunned. She was getting tired of this fight. I really need to get out of this, she thought. Of course, I need to move first.Kalence was chuckling. In his thoughts of course. He was a professional. Their plan had worked perfectly and now Thama was disabled and easy pickings. "It looks like your time is up Thama. Such a shame. Any last words?" he asked, fireball already prepared."I'm still a better solo fighter than you'll ever be," was all she could cough out."I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Now, goodbye." He released the fireball and it zoomed towards Thama. It was all going so well.The earth burst up in a protective dome around Thama, blocking the fire. As Kalence and Harynthia looked on in shock, there was a rumbling noise. The dome collapsed, revealing that Thama had disappeared."What the Karz was that?!" Harynthia shouted. "Someone stole our kill!""She must have new friends. We weren't aware of this. We'll need to alert the rest of the group of the increased danger." With that, the two soldiers of Makuta left, leaving the area empty of all fighters. Except under the ground.Thama opened her eyes. The rumbling had stopped. There was no light. This was an issue. She felt around for something to notice and only felt hard, cool earth around her, below her, and above her. Well, that's different. I'm underground in a small cave. I guess that's better than being up there getting killed. But who did this, and why? She walked to the other side of the cave, waving her arms in front of her only to fell metal and fabric. "Hold on a second. This would be a person I'm holding, wouldn't it?""Maybe," came the reply. It was a soft voice, more in jest than anything else."And may I ask why you saved me?""You were in trouble. I'm a nice guy. I do nice things for those who need nice things done for them.""I was handling myself," she replied, a bit upset that this person thought they could waltz on in to her fight."So you say, but from where I was standing, that didn't seem to be the case.""And where were you standing?""Right next to you. Your friends talk way too much by the way.""May I ask why you were standing there instead of helping? And yes, they do need to shut up.""You were handling yourself as you put it. And I wasn't there too long. We should get moving."She felt the earth shift to her left. Her eyes, now somewhat adjusted to the gloom could barely make out the outline of a tunnel. Her new "friend" led the way, holding onto her hand. They walked in a silence for a few minutes, Thama wondering just what she was going to do with this new development. They reached a good stopping point and The ground beneath them started pushing up, the ceiling moving aside for their passage. She shielded her eyes against the bright sunlight, blinking several times to get her sight back. She glanced around. They were next to the trail to Po-koro, far from the beach. There didn't seem to be any sign of her pursuers. That was good. She glanced at her rescuer, getting her first real look at him. He was pretty tall for a toa, with a normal black body and very shiny silver armor. "Thanks," she said to him."No problem," he said to her. "The name's Nen by the way. Nen Yabayand. We're going to be great friends, I can already tell."

IC(Zand): "Well, I'm wandering, not really doing anything. I do suppose we should go to Po-koro...I assume that's the village you were talking about."

IC (Naru):"Po-Koro, yes. Lot's of stuff to do there, I hope."The Toa of Plasma had no idea what to do in a village than was comprised of mostly sand and rock, but she acted enthusiastically so that she wouldn't bore away the only company she had seen for a while.

IC (Alex, in Syyge's body, Temple of Wisdom):IC (Henkka, in Voi's body, Temple of Wisdom):Henkka collapsed on the floor, exhausted. It had taken a great amount of energy to use the Komau. And it hadn't even worked. Alex's will had proven to be too strong.Alex had also been drained by Henkka's efforts to control him, but he hadn't been the one attacking, but rather defending. He had more energy left than Henkka and he knew it. Sensing weakness, Alex pushed away some rubble only to realize his left leg was badly injured. Well, Syyge's leg. Alex could not even move it."That's it!" Alex cried, turning to Stronin. "You're a dead Toa!""Alex, don't!" Henkka suddenly shouted. He was on his knees on the floor of the cavern, still weak from using the Komau. Desperacy had fueled his voice, Alex realized, and decided to kill him now. Alex found himself too weak also, though, and thus couldn't manage even a small sphere of magnetic energy."And who are you to tell me what to do?" Alex snapped at Henkka. Henkka lifted his head to look at his arch-enemy."We are not achieving anything at all by fighting each other", Henkka said. "We've done it enough to see that. Besides, killing the other will only do us harm.""Just what are you after?" Alex asked, suspicious."We're bound to time", Henkka began speaking, completely ignoring Stronin. "I believe we're a part of that. We have experience of time-travelling, maybe we can use that knowledge to get out of this circle. If we co-operate, we might find a way to return to our home and then we can finally settle things there. But as long as both of us is stuck in this time-travelling thing, it's not benefitial for anyone if we kill each other."Alex was silent.

IC(Zand): "Shall we?" He started walking towards the koro, ensuring his ax was still near him. Until he could sleep he had no idea what had happened to Radikia's soul over the...whatever happened then.

IC (Naru):After walking for a while, the Toa and the Vortixx finally arrived at Po-Koro. As usual the village seemed quite busy, but ultimately boring to Naru. While there were merchants and farmers and Kohlii players all around, the Toa of Plasma much preferred things like martial arts and exciting adventure. Unless there were trade caravans to protect, she doubted she would have anything to do.Still, she looked over the wares of one trader, before nudging Zand with her elbow."Look at this," she muttered, "a village full of people and no work for a Toa like me in sight. I don't suppose you have any new plans? If not, I have one: Let's form the 'Bored Adventurer's Guild' and see what crops up."OOC:

IC(Zand): "Bored Adventurer's Guild would have the shortening of BAG. How about Order of the Bored Adventurers? Then it's OotBA. And that's fun to say. Anyway, no new plans, except for, maybe, sleep."

IC: As Dece searched the menu for any seaweed related meals, since he knew those were safe, he wondered again about their host. "So why did you decide to form this group?" the Fe-Matoran asked Stannis carefully, "What led you to this decision?"

Ic: Stannis swallowed a pint in one gulp and answered after cracking his fingers. "I come from The Massif. Now, most of you probably don't know about it -- it's a large stone monolith between Le- and Ko-Wahis for those of ya who don't -- but what matters is the fact that it, or rather the settlement it has, is led by a man named Antrim. Lord Antrim, Baron of the Massif, King in the Massif, Warden of the East, Master of the Rock; the man's titles go on and on, and not without reason. Antrim, you see, is as strong and fine a leader as one can crave, honest, just, full of righteous fury and devout justice, and I'm proud to call him my ruler. But as great as he is, I gotta admit one thing: The town itself is a mighty sorry lot! I love The Massif. It'd be a great place for a monastery atop the rock, but it's an awful place for a village. I've always wanted some adventure, some action. And when I got the chance I was waiting for and learned about the true happenings outside the Massif..." he said, trailing off as the food they ordered came. When the waiter left, Stannis rushed to end his tale. "When I learned of the recent events, I flew the coop and sent out messages to the turaga for an adventure party."

IC:Kohra gave Clo'on a sly look. "Well, do I look mad to you?" she asked.

IC: [Stronin]Upon hearing Henkka's words, Stronin mentally groaned. It was just his luck to get involved with people who possibly belonged in an asylum, seeing that they seemed to believe that time travel actually existed. However, luckily for him, the two were currently deep in discussion with each other, despite having been fighting minutes before."Okay," he said, pulling himself out of the rubble. "Time for you guys to head back to the asylum. I can help you guys go back if you don't know the directions, but I'll need to get a drink first."Despite these words, there was a small part of him that believed that they were telling the truth, if only so they could explain why he kept on dreaming about being stabbed through the chest by a spear.

IC: "You walk around with Karzahni's gauntlet on your arm, take no care about the sun, and had nothing planned for a trek across the Motara. Do you really want an honest answer to that question?" Clo'on joked, previous melancholy dissipated

IC (Alex, in Syyge's body, Temple of Wisdom):IC (Henkka, in Voi's body, Temple of Wisdom):"Okay," Stronin said, pulling himself out of the rubble. "Time for you guys to head back to the asylum. I can help you guys go back if you don't know the directions, but I'll need to get a drink first." Alex turned to face Stronin. "Watch it", Alex said with a cold, harsh whisper. "You have no idea how weak the ice you're walking on is."Henkka realized his mistake. He had spoken to Alex openly, even called him by his real name, allowing Stronin to hear. It was no surprise the Toa of Iron thought the two were crazy. Henkka thought for a while about telling the truth. Would it do any good if Stronin knew? Or anything bad for that matter?Before Henkka could make up his mind, Alex turned to face him once again."It's a deal", Alex merely said. "A truce until we're back in our own reality."Henkka nodded, but at the same time, he did not trust Alex at all. However, even a faked truce was better than none, considering the circumstances. "Deal", Henkka said. Then he turned to Stronin. "Could you help me with him? We'll have to help him out of this cavern."

IC(Zand): "Bored Adventurer's Guild would have the shortening of BAG. How about Order of the Bored Adventurers? Then it's OotBA. And that's fun to say. Anyway, no new plans, except for, maybe, sleep."

"All right, fine, sleep it is. I guess I need to recharge my energy as well, after flinging it around so callously. What have you been doing that gets you so tired, by the way? Traveled far today?"