Sandstorm approaching. High winds to the south-west headed northward. According to weather ward, not an occurance based on natural weather patterns. Will hit South Pass at the seventh bell. All personnel advised to take cover and await orders. Watch tower is to keep eyes on storm. Watch for unusual changes. Code yellow with chance of changing to code red. High chance of source of storm being a sandworm migration. Activate battlements as preparation. Attack will commence on Wall Commander’s order. Again. Sandstorm approaching. All personnel are advised to take cover and await orders.

— Warning bell at South Pass

Where? I wake. It hard wake up. Head hurt much.

Thought. It warm. Much warm. Not good. Warm mean not cold. Not cold mean not by Home? Where Home? Where I? Scared. No. Need calm. Think.

I help fight. I fight with brothers. Keep Home safe from Bad.

Sharp. Slice through brothers. Falling. Brothers falling. Cold hand. Much same as grasping currents. I caught much like in net. Black? No more think. End of think. Where now?

I in black. Black hurt. Rub wrong. Tight. I wiggle. I wiggle out. Much light. Cold hand grasp I. I startle. Different from before cold hand. Cold hand solid now. Cold hand scary. Where Home?

“This?” voice say.

“Fish.”

“Different. It looks different from the others.” Cold hand flip me on back.

“It has wings.”

“Yes. Where did it come from?”

“Ghosts. It’s shiny. More like a rainbow than others. Ghosts like trinkets like that. Probably picked it up and wanted to show you.” I shake. Scary.

“Oh? This belongs to the core?”

“You going to eat it?”

“Hm…” Cold hand flip me again. I see. It Bad Man that hurt Home. Bad Bad. No hurt Home.

“You. Gwisin. State your purpose in coming here?” Different voice say. It shiny man with shiny scales like brothers. Shiny brother?

“Hm?” Bad say. “Ah. I’ve no purpose. Could say I’m lost.”

“Lost? How do we know you’re not lying?” Shiny Man say.

“Everand,” say man with fish tail. He have pointy horn. And red tree that open and close. “What would it matter if he were lying or not?”

“He could very well be trying to get close to us before eating us.”

“You shouldn’t be biased, Captain, Sir. Gwisins generally mind their own. They don’t attack randomly. I had a friend that was a gwisin. She was a fine adventurer, just a little quiet is all. You do have a supply, right, Gwisin?” Different man say. Man dull shiny. Man carry pointy stick. I not like pointy stick.

“Ah. I do.” Bad grin big, lifting up strange root. It bad grin. I shiver.

“He was eating an arm,” Shiny Man say.

“The arm… is worrisome,” say Fish Tail Man, “But I don’t think he’s lying. Considering how he appeared out of nowhere, he must have been caught up in a spacial fluctuation. It’s rare, but it does happen from time to time. Who knows how far he is from where he started. Most important is that he is lost, Everand. We can’t leave him here. Not in Niwl.” Fish Tail stare hard at Shiny Man. They talk through eye? Shiny Man give little nod.

“Forgive me if I’m not as trusting as you two when it comes to puca.” Shiny Man turn away.

“Sorry, he means no offense.” Fish Tail give smile.

“None taken.”

“Where are you headed, Mister, ah…”

“Yul Yeong.”

“Yes…” Fish Tail Man say. “You see, We can’t very well leave you here. This place…people get lost easily. It’s not easy to find a way out. We’re headed to South Pass. I must insist on you joining us for your own safety. Once we leave Niwl, then you can be on you way.”

“Niwl… I can’t. I’m heading back up north.”

“North? I’m sorry. We can’t turn back. Our situation is…urgent. I must ask you to come peacefully with us.” Fish Tail flick finger. Make shiny light.

“Ah.” Bad frown. Light fall on Bad. “A ward.”

“Just a precaution. Nothing more.”

“It’s impressive. You are talented. What’s your name?”

“Yen Tao. Now if you would, we’re resting for a few minutes more before we head out again.”

“Yen Tao…Well, a word of advice. Make sure your ward won’t come lose. I wouldn’t want something to happen…” Bad smile.

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Fish Tail follow eye of Bad when Bad look north. Bad squeeze cold hand. I hurt. Bad move closer to men, sit down on log and stretch out. I catch scent from Fish Tail. Home! I squirm. I bite, slip out of cold hand. Swim fast. Bump into Fish Tail. Scent not Home. Like Home, but not. Bad hiss with pain.

“What? What is this?” Fish Tail say. He hold me in warm hand.

“Mine,” say Bad.

“What?”

“It’s mine.” Bad frown. I hide in Fish Tail hand.

“He looks like he doesn’t like you.”

“Mine.”

“Surely you’re not going to eat him. He’s not much of a mouthful, and considering your…snack earlier…”

“Give it.”

“Yen, what is it?” Shiny Man say.

“A fish of some sort. Come look at him. He’s interesting.” Fish Tail move away from Bad. Bad growl as Shiny Man walk over.

“Look,” fish tail say. “He’s almost got wings.” Fish Tail touch fins. Feel strange, but I trust Fish Tail. Fish Tail smell much like Home.

“Weird. Can it fly?”

“Mm. Seems like it. It looked more like swimming, though. He’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. Just what kind of fish is it?”

“Is it a sliver fish? I heard those could fly,” Shiny say. Bad stand.

“No, I don’t think so. I haven’t seen one, but the records say sliver fish are much sleeker, almost like a knife. They only live in the north…” Fish Tail look at Bad.

“It’s mine. Give it back.”

“No. I don’t think I will. Just consider this your payment for having us lead you through the Niwl.”

“Give. It. Back.” Bad swipe at Fish Tail. Sharp! Fish Tail, dodge! Hurt!

But no, Fish Tail okay. Fish Tail open red tree and twirl. Sharp disappear on red tree. Fish Tail fast, appear before Bad, sharp pointy pulled from trunk of red tree poking Bad in neck. Fish Tail smile scary, but Fish Tail cool. I happy.

“You have a lot of cards up your sleeve even with me sealing your most utilized skill. I’ll have to watch for that. Just so you know, the ward I casted is a prisoner’s ward, a bit of an unusual one since it is a quick cast. Simply put, every time you show any aggressive tendencies, it will seal another of your skills and give you that nice little shock you’re feeling at the moment. Not the most efficient, but it’s the best I could do in such short notice. But, don’t think for a second that I don’t have something much much worse if you try something like this again.” Bad shake much. Bad bleed from biting tongue. Fish Tail back away when Bad fall to ground.

“Well,” Fish Tail say, brushing off hands. “I think we’ve rested enough. How about it, Everand? We ready to head out again?”

“You…what…are you?” Bad have trouble speaking.

“Me? Can’t you see I’m a Qilin?”

“Not…that…”

“Ah, you’re asking about my warding. You have resistance, don’t you? That’s surprising. I heard it’s extremely difficult for a puca to acquire that skill. It makes me wonder how you did it. Not that you’d be able to do anything against my wards at such a low level.” Fish Tail swirl red tree in hands.

“How?”

“Mmm no. You’ll have to earn that answer. Now, I’m heading out whether you people are or not. Take care not to get left behind. I wouldn’t want to be you if you did.”

“Derik, help him up. We’re leaving. You’re in charge of the gwisin. Make sure he doesn’t do anything,” Shiny Man say. Dull Man with pointy stick pull Bad up. Group start moving through creepy trees. Miss Home.

Fish Tail look at I.

“You’re from the north, right? The Rhew?” What that? I from Home. “How did he?” Fish Tail look back at Bad.

Shiny come close.

“I wish we could leave him here to get lost or die or whatever,” Shiny man say.

“You know we can’t.” Fish Tail shake head. “A feral puca this close to the Seven Cities…”

“We can’t just kill him?”

“You’re asking me? Usually you’re a stickler for the rules. He hasn’t shown us any hostilities.”

“Hostilities? What do you call what just happened back there?”

“You know that wasn’t real hostilities. He was just after the fish. Besides, I say feral, but he’s a pretty well known adventurer. Do you want to get on the Union’s bad side?”

“They won’t know. He’ll just disappear.”

“I wish I could say yes. He’s too dangerous to keep alive. It seems even with the root, he’s eaten people. He should be hanged for that, but there’s a reason why he hasn’t. This is Yul Yeong. You may not have heard of him, but I have.”

“Is he that dangerous? From what I see, with you here, we’d be able to bring him down without any difficulties.”

“Normally, I’d agree with you. He is stronger than a regular gwisin. From what I’ve heard, he’s got the perfect skill set for a gwisin, too, including one called [flicker], which is notoriously hard to get. It’s also extremely hard to deal with. If I hadn’t managed to seal it off when we first met him, it’d be hard to touch him much less kill him. That isn’t the problem. But yes, we’d be able to kill him if it came to it.”

“Then what is the problem? You aren’t one to hesitate even if the Union is involved. I am the one that is usually reluctant to deal with them.”

“It’s…He doesn’t actually belong to the Union.”

“He’s not an adventurer? Why is that a problem?”

“No, he is one. It’s just that he’s being loaned to them.”

“Loaned? By who?”

“Abred Meddwl.” Shiny spit weird word, look much angry.

“Why haven’t I heard anything about this before. If he belongs to Abred, that’s serious.”

“I don’t know. You really should have heard of him. He’s been making his way up and around the East Coast for a while now, even stopped by the Seven Cities a few years ago. The Traveler in Black, he’s sometimes called. Or something like that.”

“Traveler in black? With a name like that, of course it wouldn’t catch my eye. You know how many people wander around in black.”

“Your father’s probably kept his eye on him. Small villages had a habit of disappearing along his trail. Not many, but enough for smart people to start putting two and two together.” Shiny grit teeth. Fish tail give insult? Rude. Hehe.

“So, we can’t kill him.”

“Not likely. Not without triggering the [life] skill that’s no doubt placed on him.”

“How obnoxious.”

“I know. Best plan is just to see if we can hole him up at South Pass. I don’t know how long we can keep him there, though. There’s something I want to ask him.”

“Speaking of South Pass. I don’t believe Commander Llid has anything to do with the place. Even if he did, he wouldn’t just up and go there, not with the situation as it is in Asterope. He’s lying. Father knew it. I know it. You know it.” Shiny glance at weird man covered in blue swirly. Blue Swirly look angry, but stay in back. Bad walk too with men, muttering to self. Creepy trees creepy and creepy. I not like. I swim, sit on Fish Tail head. Fish Tail give smile.

“He’s not lying. You can tell by his face that the letter did mention South Pass,” say Fish Tail. Shiny grunt, annoyed. “But, no, you’re right. Just because the letter mentioned it doesn’t mean he knows where his father is.”

“Why’d he say it then?”

“My guess is the frequency. His letter probably mentioned it several times. Whatever the reason, Curo Llid was worried about South Pass. Under the scrutiny of your father, Dicter felt the need to mention something, anything. You know how it is when your father activates his skill. The only thing that would have come to mind was the place written so many times in his letter. Maybe even multiple letters. Even with how much Dicter hates his father, he still took the time to read his letters. A complex perhaps? Hating him but still wanting to be recognized? To make him feel proud? Hm…” Fish Tail look at Blue Swirly. “Interesting… Still, this is all just my own conjectures. Still, the question is, why did your father play along?” Fish Tail raise eyebrow at Shiny. Shiny give sigh.

“Whether or not South Pass has any information on where Commander Llid is, it doesn’t matter. We don’t have a lead. And, well… something has been happening at South Pass. There’s been reports of unusual movements from the monsters in the sands of Suon Kiin, but they’re strangely vague. Father’s been worried for a while now. This is probably just an excuse to have someone investigate.”

“That’s like him. Killing three birds with one stone. I suppose these strange movements are also the reason that Curo Llid was so fixated on South Pass. We find out what’s been happening, if Curo ever came here, and get to drop of two pieces of troubling cargo. I guess that’s four birds for us. Even Dicter benefits. He gets a place to blow off steam and beat up monsters to his content. Surely he’d fare better out on the wall rather than rot in a city tavern. He has the potential.”

“You almost sound like a doting father.”

“You flatter me. How long are you going to nurse that grudge against him?”

“He almost broke my nose.”

“Ah, I almost forgot you were that type of person.” Shiny frowns.

“Remind me why I am friends with you.”

“Because my personality is just divine. Wherever I go, people just love me.”

“Right. And I don’t suppose–”

“Shush.” Fish Tail stop walking. “You hear that?” He give whisper. I listen. It quiet. No bug sound anymore. I listen more. Slow sound. Quiet but long.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Creepy. Danger. I not like.

“That’s?” Shiny whisper. “What is–” Fish Tail shove Shiny aside. Long Black strike spot where Shiny stood.

“Stay on, little fishy. Things are about to get a bit bumpy.” Fish Tail pull out red tree and knock Long Black back. I see Long Black. Nasty thing. Like eel, but not. Like otter but not. Have face of big, big otter, or catfish. Have body like otter too. Neck different, much like eel. Long, long neck. Not like. Body sit in tree above, neck strike fast.

“It’s a serpopard!” Man yell. He get bit and thrown in air.

“Thomas!” Shiny yell. Shiny on feet now.

“I got him,” Lady Shiny say. She much like Home too. She jump, run on air some, like I swim in air. Catch thrown man and drop to ground again. Good job Lady Shiny. Shiny launch sharp attack with long sharp pointy. Sharp much like Bad Man sharp. It fly through air and hit Long Black. Long Black growl. Other men fight more Long Black that show. Not big like first Long Black, though. One. Two. Three. Three Long Black. Still scary. I hide on Fish Tail head as he fight off Long Blacks with other men.

“How is he?” Shiny say.

“He’s fine. A bit chewed up, but he’ll manage. Stand up, you big baby, and help.” Lady Shiny help Bit Man up. I stop watching. Distracted. Fish Tail fighting Big Long Black.

“I’ll hold off this one for now. Go beat up the other two.” He wave Shiny away. “Hey! You stupid cat or snake or whatever you are, you freak! Look this way! Yeah, that’s right, you ugly thing with a stupidly long neck. Bet your mother threw you out because you were so ugly!” Angry Long Black not nice Long Black. Attack Fish Tail with big mouth, but Fish Tail use red tree to push Long Black head aside. Long Black head slip by and hit tree.

Fish Tail take spikes from little branches of red tree and throw at Long Black. Hit Long Black along neck and give light. Part of neck with spikes go stiff. Long Black can’t bend part of neck. Long Black try attack by spit at Fish Tail. Fish Tail block with red tree and hit Long Black in head.

No! Fish Tail not notice. Long Black attack with claw from behind. Not hurt Fish Tail. I spit silk, tie up claw in tree above. Claw get tangled. Long Black roar. Fish Tail notice and cut off claw with sharp pointy from red tree trunk. Stab sharp pointy in Long Black eye, too. Long Black twitch and die. I shiver. Cold soul gone from Long Black. But I happy he no attack anymore.

“Oh, what was that, little guy?” See, I help Fish Tail. Fish Tail not die. “Looks like you can hold your own pretty good. Good job.” Fish Tail pat me like Home pat me. I happy.

“Oi, Yen! You alright?” Shiny say.

“I’m just fine and dandy. How about you? Kill that thing yet?”

“You didn’t even need my help, did you?”

“Nope. This little guy did a better job than you would have anyway.”

“The fish? You’re saying I’m more worthless than a fish?”

“You’re the one that said it. Not I.” Shiny frown. Lady Shiny laugh behind hand. “Good job, though. Looks like I don’t need to clean up after you.”

“Of course not. Why would you? We, the King’s Guard, can handle a few serpopards just fine,” Shiny mutter. Long Blacks all dead now. Souls all gone now. “Still, it’s your fault your wards didn’t keep them away.”

“Serpopards are ambush creatures. They like to wait in the trees for prey to walk underneath them. They’re not easily moved just by the influence of wards. It couldn’t be helped. We walked into them.” Fish Tail make more light with finger. Light settle over men. Men start walking again.

I glad. We walk long. Sun set. Sun rise. We take break sometime. Little monster sometime attack, but men kill easy. No big one, I happy. Then, trees stop. No more of them. Open up to grass and grass and grass. And big, big, big much rocks.

“See, there, fishy,” Fish Tail say. “We’re out of Niwl now. Those over there, that’s the Milana Mountains. And that there, that wall spanning the gap in the mountains. That’s South Pass.”

Status Menu Name: Niko Race: Greater Flying Silk Gurnard Level: 11 Attribute: Ice Health: 170/170 (11/min) Mana: 290/290 (17/min) State: Lost — (Separation from Dungeon reduces health and mana by 15%) Heart: 13 Spirit: 19 Luck: 20 [Ξ] Perk Points: 2 Perks: {Boss Monster: (+10 intelligence, endurance, strength, defense, health, mana)} {Unlock Next Perk: (0/10)} Skills: [Razor Scales IV] [Carion Feeder V] [Air Swimming VII] [Swarm V] [Trap III] [Ambush II] [Ice Silk I] [Leading I] [Jet Stream I]