Beliefs

[Zerrif]

"Alright Ammy, here we go!" Gerik said, taking the branch off the ground and lobbing it down the grassy area of Payon. The Nine Tail was bounding off after it in a flash, making the Acolyte smile. He never figured that a fox would be something like a dog-- but then again, he didn't mind. The playful vulpine reminded him of it's previous owner; kind of like a young, jovial child. He knelt down as the kitsune returned the stick, dropping it in his hand. "My, you're smart. I wonder what else you can do."

"I'm sure he can learn a few things." Came a familiar voice. Gerik turned around to see the Assassin, Konkon, standing there against a tree. He was about to explain when the Assassin just waved a hand, laughing. "Nono, don't say anything. He seems to like you better anyway-- besides, I figure if you keep him, it gives me a reason to keep following you, hm?"

"Follow me?" Gerik asked, before he shook his head. "Konkon, listen if you want him back, you can--"

"I don't!" The Assassin barked at the Acolyte. "Just... keep him. He's happy, anyway." He looked over his shoulder, and just shook his head. "I'll be around." He said, before he vanished into the thin air. Gerik blinked for a second, before he clapped his hands together.

"Ruwach!" He chanted, a bright blue ball floating around him-- but there was nothing. He took a few steps around, the Nine Tail following at his heels, but he uncovered no hidden Assassin.

"Who're you looking for?" Came another voice. Muarim had just walked up from the other side of the tree that Konkon had been standing beside. That was probably why he left. Gerik just shook his head, and Muarim smiled-- holding up a rather large, rolled up set of parchments. "Anyway, here's the maps that I had. I knew I had them."

Almost on cue, the familiar click-click of D's cart was soon lumbering over the grass, and Gerik saw the Mage sitting upon it, the Archer following behind. He was holding items in his arms, and there seemed to be a few additions to the cart as well.

"I convinced some of the treasurers of the guild to help us out. I got a few things that I figured would be useful and-- they're also a token of thanks from the guild. Because of adventurers like you, there were almost no casualties." The Archer said, before he set stuff down on the grass. He handed what seemed to be a plain looking rod to the Mage, before the sides of it glowed-- four cards had been inserted into the rod, all depicting images of what seemed like bird-like people.

"Hill Wind Cards?" Bascht asked, as the Archer nodded. "My, you really took what I said to heart, didn't you? Thank you, this is something to treasure forever." He said. The smile that was on the mask seemed genuine at least, and Ren just grinned.

He handed a ruby-crested staff to the Acolyte, and heaved up a set of chainmail, that had a faint blue glow around it. "A Staff of Recovery, and a set of Saphien's Armor of Ocean." Ren explained. Muarim tried on the armor, finding that he could adjust and clasp it easily to his body. "That should help out greatly down there."

"This is..." Gerik started to speak. Though he knew that the staff he'd received wasn't of great value, it was still something more than he'd ever dreamed of being able to afford at this point. "Thank you, Ren. I'll keep this close to me."

"Just don't think you'll win over our hearts with bribery. I'm a merchant I know better." Muarim warned, though he had a smile on his face and he was running his fingers over the enchanted mail that he wore. His gift was perhaps the rarest of them all, but he wasn't about to let them know that. Rare things meant zeny. Zeny meant a happy merchant.

"So, those would be the maps of the caverns, I presume?" Ren asked, as he pointed at the scrolls that the Merchant was still holding. The group took a seat on the ground as Muarim lay out the floor-maps of each level of the cavern. "My... they seem so... large."

"You mean to say that he's somewhere in here?" Gerik asked, staring at one of the maps that the Merchant had procured. "This place is gigantic! The only feasible way we could cover this all would be to split up-- but that's something we generally avoid."

D nodded. "Yeah, but unfortunately, that's just how big Byalan is. Not to mention paths that aren't mapped out regularly by adventurers. He could have easily gone astray from the paths and wandered into the unknown caverns."

"I hear the deepest levels of Byalan are even underwater." Bascht noted. "Unless there's some trick to it, we won't even be able to venture that deep. Meaning we have to cut off at least half of this dungeon to be explored. But from what you told us, your brother is an experienced adventurer, isn't he? He'd have found some way down there if he needed to head down there."

The Archer nodded. "K--... He was an extremely accomplished adventurer." He said, looking down at his feet. "Far moreso than I could ever aspire to be." A hand clapped his shoulder, and he looked up to see Gerik smiling at him.

"Come now, that's no way to be thinking, is it? Let's start with what we know, and press on from there. Besides--" He looked around at his party. "I'm sure that won't even stop us. We're far too eager. Welcome aboard to the party, Ren."

"Does the party have a name?" Ren asked. Gerik looked at him with a blank stare. "Really? Most parties that pass by Payon, or at least the ones that I know of, have a name. A title. Something that they can be known by. All great deeds need to be credited to someone or some group. I suppose it's not all that important but..."

"Why don't you think of one? You're supposed to be the master of words, aren't you?" Bascht quipped, coldly. Gerik shot him a glare, but the Archer didn't seem to notice at all. Muarim looked over too, kind of shocked at the treatment-- but then again, he'd sort of received the same thing. He figured that if anyone could weather the harsh treatment, Bascht would start respecting them. Or something like that.

"How about "The Harbingers"? It means messengers. Each of us has our own message or teaching we bring around to the world. We don't necessarily have to share the same thought-- the point is simply that we each bring forth a message, a lesson." The Archer beamed as his though, and Gerik smiled softly as well.

"Wonderful." Bascht said-- behind the mask, he was rolling his eyes. "Now, can we go?" It wasn't much of a question, more of a complaint. He just moved himself over to D's cart, and sat upon it, leaving the Blacksmith laughing nervously.

"Yes, if we have nothing else to get here, and we're all done stocking up and resting, let us go." Gerik said, as he stood off the grass as well. "It's safe to assume that your brother would have had maps like these as well. Let's search the known paths first for clues, then if we come across nothing, we'll slowly go exploring. Sound good to you?"

Ren nodded. To be frank, this was far more than he had ever hoped for.

---

The trip from Payon to Alberta took less time than it had first gone-- though there was no trace of the Roween or the Galion ever having been in the forest. It was like their scuffle with the Star Gladiator had never existed within the forest.

Or as if all traces had been covered up on purpose.

It was a conversation the first night they camped, after Ren had fallen asleep. "Should we tell him?" Muarim had asked. "Ren is like us. He's... alone, right? Even if he lives with the guild he's still an Archer, an adventurer, without a real place to go back. And now with his brother gone--"

"His brother was probably taken, not disappeared." Bascht quipped. D looked over at him, his head tilted slightly in question. "Think about it. If our theory is true, and it seems like it is, they would have targeted the both of them. Taking one brother while he's on a mission is easy, especially if he's the more capable one."

"That's right." Gerik stared into the fire, closing his eyes. "Promise him a world where his skills would be put to use, or promise him false dreams of fame, or power. Once you snag him, the second brother would do almost anything for the first. This doesn't seem like much of a coincidence, all things considered."

"I'll start asking around in Izlude, while you guys to go Byalan." D proposed. It was the Mage's turn to look over, but the head-snap was so instant. D already knew what kind of expression he held underneath the mask; it was one of worry. "No, I'm not going. This is something you guys can do on your own. You need the experience on your own and besides--" He scratched the back of his head. "I've got some personal matters to deal with in Izlude. So I'll ask around, and do my junk. You guys do yours, and we'll meet up again after."

"So... do we tell him?" Muarim asked, looking over the sleeping Archer's form. "I mean, if it concerns him and his brother--"

"We don't know for sure." Bascht corrected. "For now, let's keep this between us. We'll know for sure if we should tell him, if we find any sort of tampering or disturbance created by the DBF." The others nodded at that notion, and the Merchant and Smith excused themselves for bed.

"... Not going to bed?" Bascht asked, seeing Gerik still sitting there. The Acolyte suddenly smiled, and the Mage twitched slightly. "What?"

"You've taken a liking already to Ren, haven't you?" Gerik asked. The Mage scoffed. "You said that because you don't want him to have any other worries added on top of his brother. You're probably hoping we're wrong, and that this goes over well." Another scoff. "It's alright, I won't tell. But just know this, Bascht. Your cold exterior doesn't fool me."

"Assume what you like, Gerik." The Mage replied, coldly. "I'm not about to reveal whether or not you're right so quickly." He excused himself politely after that, going to curl up beside the Smith.

"That just basically said yes." Gerik thought to himself, with a smirk. He looked around again, and smiled. "We might not have anywhere to go, but we've got each other. That's a start, isn't it?"