Journey to the North

As the heroes that went forth to gather the aid of the centaurs returned, the centaurs were sent to another section of the city to be briefed on exactly what was going on, Arrivain was sent with them to lead them through the city, since she was already there once. Jormung, Liam, Matt, Mikhos, and now Archie as he returned from his trip to a certain human city gathered in the same place to talk to the king, they saw the king had a somber look on his face, that turned even darker when he saw Jormung enter the room.

He sighed and motioned for them to sit "Welcome back, im sorry for looking so solemn even though your mission was a success. I have news..terrible news."

Archie looked a little more relaxed than the last time the party saw him. He sat hunched over against the wall of the room listening intently to the king. He stood up when the king mentioned that he had terrible news. Archie wasn't ready for more problems and glumly he responded.

"What ill has befallen us now, good king?"

Matt and Mouse sit down next to each other. They both listen to the king. When the king tells of the bad news, Matt says, "What happened? Is it the Infection?"

the grey goo oozes itself out from between two floor tiles and telepathically chirps in everyone mind "why is everyone so tense? and why do the rats here taste awful?"

Liam looked surprised at the slime "You can talk?" He looks back to the king "Whats wrong? It's the infection again isnt it? I had a feeling it would spread to other areas by the time we got back..."

"Don't fret, sovereign king." Jormung boomed, offering a grand, reassuring smile to the monarch. "I have traveled with these powerful companions, and I know now that the gods are with us."
He pounded his chest with his right fist and then raised his tensed arm into the air. "There is no need to cushion the words; we will triumph without hesitation or remorse. Wyrd does not wait for a mortal's courage!"
Jormung was ready to prove himself. His heart pounded like cantering hoofbeats, his muscles felt electrified.

He looked at Jormung with a sad smile, and he motioned again for him to sit down "Jormung...you should sit down. Out of all those present this will hit you hardest. My scouts in the north, between the cities of Janwyn and Silvergold, got word that a Ruloandr village called Gefjun was attacked and completely infested, only one survivor, a child. Apparently one of the citizens of the town planted the infection...He was more than likely some how being manipulated by the Cult."

He looked at all of them, focusing on Jormung, and he sighed "We need you to go north, and attempt to clear this infection before it spreads out. This will be dangerous but i know with all of you working together you can do it. If you need we will send a group of 5 guards with you to supplement your efforts."

Jormung snapped-to at the sound of "Gefjun." He turned bloodless and unblinking.
Shouting rapidly to his comrades, he said: "G-- we must g-go. We must go now!" He stood. "Hurry, LEAVE, NOW!."
His chest puffed up and down heavily.
"Belvia... she is MY Belvia. Gefjun is my... it's mine." His pulse slowed, and he looked upward to the ceiling, trying to see the heavens beyond it. "Don't take it from me."
His gaze came back to Velios as he peered around the room, seeming lost.

A grave silence filled the room as they watched Jormung become filled with despair. Archie was struck by his words and was sympathetic to the situation, having something similar occur to him only a few weeks prior. This infection is spreading much faster than I anticipated, it seems that people across the world are being hurt by it. He laid a gentle hand on Jormung's shoulder.
"My friend, the spread of this disease was inevitable; It seems this cult is attempting to attack each of us directly. However, we had no way of saving your town even if we saw the attack coming. The only thing left to do is travel there and salvage what we may."

Liam looked worried and said "That for north and it will begin to hit the drakin soon, i may have left my people but that does not mean i will sit by and let any harm come to them." He looked at Jormung and put his hand on his shoulder "We will avenge your home, i promise you...I may be a black market criminal, but i am not bereft of all the honor my house bestowed upon me." He looked at the others gathered there and said "I suggest e leave as soon as we are able, and those extra guards sound like a wonderful idea."

as the group leaves the Kings room BASE_SEVEN slithers behind them but doesn't seem to comprehend the gravity of this situation as it remains upbeat and blissfully ignorant of everyone's emotional turmoil. its voice once again chirps in everyone's mind "Where are we going? Will the food there taste better?"

"The north, huh?..." Matt says. He begins to think of his home and what could happen if the Infection spreads any further, then shivers. "Let's get to the ship quickly..." He looks towards Mouse and says, "Be prepared for the worst... Do you have any of your... tricks... up your sleeve?"

She nods at him, smiling, "I've been working on something... You'll just have to wait and find out!" She then looks at the slime, "You hush now! Now is not the time to be thinking about food," she says, before tossing a number of jellybeans at the creature.

The two then walk to the ship.

The alchemist walks in silent gloom, understanding the gravity of the situation. "The infection could'nt have spread so quickly, the weeks I have spent taking samples. I have been gauging the infection for weeks and never could have predicted it would spread so quickly." He looks over at Jormung, the warrior walks forth at a brisk pace, his feet pounding with every step, and the subtle mix of dread and anger in his face. Mikhos walks over to Jormung and reassuringly puts an arm on his shoulder. "Jormung please quell the rage in your heart, let it not consume you. This must surely be a dark day if a hero such as yourself is distraught by this attack. Let us not have our enemies win before we get on the battlefield." He says with a jovial expression. He removes his arm and starts toward the airship. "A dark day indeed..."

Jormung shrugged off the alchemists hand with disdain. He said not a word, only held back his seething, his anger at the gods. There were questions in his mind, thoughts that perhaps some had escaped... tenuous sparkles of hope in his darkened vision. He fought himself, and managed to straighten his spine and keep his chin high as he strode, muscles coiled and knotted, to the ship.
His breaths were audibly heavy as he tried not to scream.
The thoughts in his mind were of so many friendly faces... but one was recurring over and over among the rest.

Liam noticed the five guards already waiting for them at the docks "Look, they are already there. We should get moving now, the longer we wait the worse it is going to get up there. I just hope to the spirits Jormung's divine magic is enough to try and atleast stem the spread oft he infection for a little while longer."

Matt nods at Liam, "And lets hope nothing tries to attack while we're on the way there..." He and Mouse climb up into the ship. Matt walks to the cockpit and starts up the engines, while Mouse walks to her room. She looks through her shelves of jellybeans and their assorted flavors. One of the bins is curiously marked "explosive." She puts a number of explosive jellybeans into her satchel. She also picks up a slingshot.

Archie heard the roar of the engine start up. Yet, in an attempt to seek refuge from the gloom of reality, he decides to entertain himself with the nearest slime at hand. He gingerly pets the blog of goo that identifies itself as BASE_SEVEN on the...most head-like appendage. The chirps and squeals of the slime that enter in the Rat King's mind when the slime talks are oddly soothing.
"Here we all are caught up in this mess that I thought wouldn't keep me for a week or two at best. Now both Jormung and I have lost a great deal. And there's nothing we can do but fight through it." He peered at the blob. "It seems that the only thing the infection isn't impacting is you little buddy. Maybe at least one of us will make it out of this unscathed."
Archie takes out a small biscuit to feed to the creature. He then shuffles along as fast a somber rat might shuffle to the airship where the remainder of the group was heading.

A mysterious figure stands atop a building, scanning the group with interest. Archie notices the strange presence and glances at the spot where the man was standing... but there was no one there.

Archie's pace faltered slightly as his danger senses went off causing his head to perk up and his ears to twitch. As he continued walking to the ship, he thought he noticed a figure in his peripheral vision. His heart skipped a beat and when he glanced to the top of a nearby building, yet there was no sign that anyone had been there. Now who in their right mind would try to sneak around in my shadows? The Rat King wondered to himself. I am getting more anxious by the minute.
Archie shrugged off the encounter and entered the airship.

The ship lifts off once Archie climbs on board. Matt pilots the ship towards their destination, unaware of the strange presence of this mysterious stranger.

The journey northward would actually take a few days even on matt's ship. He was after all a pirate and flying through Praugres territory, especially anywhere near the major cities, was not easy. During this time the heroes would be stuck on matt's ship, having to actually socialize and get to know one another. For Matt and the wyrm king this was already a tense situation, and Archie may feel uneasy around his drakin friend after what he did in silvergold.

The first night of their trek, liam sat on the bridge of Matt's ship looking out into the night's sky, up into the stars.

Archie clumsily stumbles out onto the bridge to get fresh air. The Rat King still has no stomach for flying. He was surprised to find Liam lounging out there already. The Drakin was gazing longingly at the stars. It was a beautiful, clear and cool night. The sky shimmered with the radiance of the myriad stars. Archie thought that they were very pretty indeed, but the years of being hunched over made his back and neck hurt when they were arched towards the sky. He looked back down at his feet.

"A beautiful night, my friend. I am told that the Drakin care very much for the stars. IS this true?"

Liam turned and looked at Archie with a soft expression and small smile, it looked new on Liam's face and it made him look...sad. He nodded and said "Yes it is very true my friend. The Drakin love the stars, for the stars love us. Shining down on us during our darkest hours, illuminating the way...my father always told that to me." He breathed in deeply and said "Though something my father once said about the stars is..sadly true. I wish i had understood what he meant long ago.."

Fascinated, Archie forgot all of his unease of flying. Instead, he turned to his friend to delve deeper into what he was thinking.
"Your father, heh? It sounds as though you cared for him dearly. I'm sure he is watching you from the stars above." Archie paused

"What had he told you so long ago, friend?"

he chuckled with a small smile and nodded "My father was my best and closest friend. One day before the war he rested his hand on y shoulder, knelt down and said to me 'Look at the stars my son, they are beautiful aren't they? Remember the stars my son, for they shall never be the same once we have finished.' and then he walked away to go to the front lines and die a war hero. Leaving my family in such disarray and leaving me alone....i wish i had understood him back then but...i got scared and ran." Liam was giving Archie an important piece of his very soul, liam saw him as a good friend.