E-Story/3

After about an hour or so of wandering, Nyjole, Farok, and Scorwa had come to the large hole. On the other side of this hole was the surface world. The stretch of land outside, Barren Plains, was a dirt-filled wasteland. At one time, it was more of a tundra. Blizzards had always raged here, and the place was infested with all kinds of powerful monsters. They were thought to be gone, but with the recent events in the tunnels, perhaps monsters had returned here as well…

Farok was the first to bound out of Magma tunnels, through the hole, and land in Barren Plains.

"Wow, I haven't been out of Magma Tunnels for, like, ever!" Farok squealed. "It's a lot different out here."

Scorwa wandered out of the cave, observing the plains passively. Nyjole followed, not concerned with his surroundings. He was keeping to himself.

Nyjole didn't know what the others were thinking exactly, but he was worried and confused about the Locksil in the tunnels. Why was it there? What other secrets could be lurking in the tunnels? Could something mysterious be happening across Elemania? Above all, what would they run into next?

"Back off!" roared an aggravated voice in the distance. Then, a thunderclap, a squeal, and a thud.

Nyjole snapped back to reality. Scorwa and Farok exchanged looks.

"Hey, what was that?" Farok wondered.

"Someone else must be nearby. It sounds like a battle just happened," Scorwa said.

"Well, let's go see who it is," Nyjole suggested.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea. What if they're hostile?" Scorwa replied. But Farok had already started gliding towards a figure in the distance, calling out to it. The others didn't have time to protest, and instead kept up with Farok and hoped he didn't get himself into any trouble.

They approached the figure, its back turned to them. It was an iron-grey-colored Elemen. The orbs at the ends of his long, black antennae were twitching receptively. His arms had no fingers, and his feet, no toes. The figure turned around to face the trio. He had gleaming, purple eyes. From his expression, one could tell he had a no-nonsense personality. The kind of person with an attitude like, 'get in my way and I promise I'll pound you to a pulp.' Of course, he didn't actually say this.

"What's going on?" the grey Elemen questioned.

"Hey, guy! What's your name?" Farok asked delightfully, throwing all caution to the wind.

"I go by Konoske," said the Elemen. "I'm traveling. And so are you three, no doubt."

"Konoske? Hmm… are you the one who conquered Xagros?" said Scorwa. Unlike Nyjole, Scorwa was old enough to remember the years of Xagros’ tyranny.

"No. That was Kanoska," said Konoske. "I am proud to be named after him, though, as I commend the nobility of his crusade."

Farok leaned towards Nyjole and whispered, "That guy looks kind of funny!"

Konoske gave Farok a cold look. "I heard that. Realize that some people are not tolerant of being insulted. I'm one of them. "

"Sorry…" Farok said sheepishly. He backed off.

Konoske grunted. "Just watch your tongue. There are others who would kill you on the spot for such an insult. You're lucky I'm not so drastic." He was obviously losing interest in the group at this point.

"I'm Nyjole," said Nyjole, stepping forward. "Thanks for, uh, not killing our little buddy here."

Konoske nodded curtly.

"So… what just happened here? I heard something happen," said Scorwa.

"An Elemen just came out of nowhere and attacked me for no reason. So I killed it. Simple as that."

Scorwa was feeling very nervous then. Were they dealing with a murderer?

But Nyjole had another thought. "Did you notice anything… unusual… about this Elemen?" he asked.

"Actually, yes. There was an odd lack of emotion about it. Robotic, you might say. Why do you ask?"

Nyjole's face fell. "This is bad. Farok… Scorwa… it looks like there are more monsters outside Magma Tunnels."

"Huh. So you're aware of them already. Interesting that they've infiltrated Magma Tunnels as well," commented Konoske.

"We'd better get going," said Scorwa to Konoske. "We need to pass through here, and it's kind of urgent that we hurry along."

"Hm? Why's that?" asked Konoske. He was curious now.

"Well, I'm not sure if it's for us to tell you—" Nyjole started.

"Gleam got kidnapped! We have to go save her!" Farok blurted out.

"A kidnapping… who is Gleam? Where is she now? Who took her?" Konoske was pelting the trio with questions.

Nyjole hesitated, but then decided to say, "The Guards of Gahalak have captured Gleam, one of the residents in Magma Tunnels. She was probably taken to Dark Caverns. We're going there in hopes of getting her back somehow."

"Dark… caverns…" Konoske thought aloud, suddenly looking thoroughly irritated. "…great. That's where those control freak Darfonians are. Their group is a plague to Elemania. Would you mind if I travel with you? I want to be a part in bringing their downfall."

Scorwa eyed Konoske suspiciously. "I don't trust you," Scorwa admitted. "I don't think I want to let you come with us."

Farok protested: "Aw, why not? He can help us defeat those evil guards!"

"Hrmm…" Scorwa was considering this. "I'm not sure. Nyjole, you decide."

"Well, I figure we need as much help as we can get. The Guards of Gahalak are definitely tough. Plus, we're probably going to have to fight our way into Dark Caverns."

"Not necessarily," said Konoske. "There are always guards working shifts at the entrance, true. But, if we can somehow manage to get our hands on enough passports for all of us, they'll probably let us into the caverns, and we won't cause any initial havoc."

"Alright, that's great," said Scorwa, "but do you have any idea how we're going to manage to get passes in the first place."

"You still haven't answered my question. Are you going to let me into your group or not?" asked Konoske.

Nyjole thought for a bit.

"Alright. You seem like you know what you're doing here. We'll let you tag along."

For the first time since the group encountered him, Konoske smiled. "Goodie. Well then, how are we going to get a passport…" Konoske wondered aloud.

"You're asking us?" said Farok.

"Rhetorical question," Konoske said. Farok didn't quite understand what that meant but he didn't bother questioning further.

Nyjole had a suggestion. "Well, this sounds a little criminal, but… what if we stole another Darfonian's pass?"

"That will work perfectly," Konoske commented. "It'll be all too simple to take one from a stupid Darfonian."

"Normally I'm against stealing, but let's go for it!" cried Farok decisively.

"Hang on," said Scorwa. "The Darfonians don't usually come out of their cave. At least, not nowadays. If things escalate to war later on, they'll have to come out. But they'll be pouring out in hundreds by then. That would be tricky."

"Wrong. Darfonians have been doing a lot of scouting outside their hole as of late," said Konoske. "Snatching a passport or four from unsuspecting scouts should be a piece of cake."

"Oh. Okay then, that works," said Scorwa. "But… it makes me wonder what they're doing the scouting for. What if they're planning an attack soon?"

"If the kidnapping is the work of the Darfonians, they've already made their initial attack." Konoske noted. "I wouldn't be surprised if they orchestrated another soon."

"This is worse than I thought," said Nyjole. "First the kidnapping, now the possibility of another attack. And the monsters… what are we going to do about those?"

"I… truly don't know how we'll take care of the monsters," Konoske admitted. "For now I suggest we deal with the problem on hand. Gleam. Should we depart, then?"

"Right, right. We'll probably figure the other stuff out as we go," said Nyjole.

"Well, there's no point in standing around here!" said Farok. And with that, they departed.

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