The one-month recess was over, and Night, Sam, and Stars met at the Kerning City Fusion Bar. Night and Sam walking in holding hands attracted the attention of many, but not enough for them to become too interested, for they had more important things to get to : their alcohol.

Stars made no sign that he acknowledged the two were together. He just walked towards them, briskly, silently. Together, they walked outside.

Pulling another kind of scroll from his bag, Stars handed one each to the couple, still holding hands. They let go briefly, to hold the scroll open and read the incantations.

They appeared in Ellinia. Their destination : Orbis.

The ship’s horn bellowed once, announcing its landing. In 5 minutes, the ship would depart from Ellinia.

Handing over a small sack of meso for three crude pieces of paper, tickets, Stars motioned for them to follow.

They handed the tickets over to the Ticketing Usher, who looked like a strange cross between a man and a woman. The person just pouted in their direction.

They boat’s horns made a deep rumbling noise, as it departed from the wooden dock, spewing puffs of black smoke to pollute the clear skies.

As the boat left, Night and Sam were jostled, knocking Night into a wall, and Sam soon following, tackling him as he recovered, knocking his breath out once more. Stars just glanced at them, then scoffed.

<Come on, this way. Newbs.> Stars’ thought appeared in their minds.

<There might be Balrog attacks. No need for you to get hurt before we even reach the end of our trip.> Stars’ telepatically said to Night only.

Night heeded the warning, tugging Sam’s arm. “Let’s go put down our stuff and prepare for jet lag.”

“Okay, sure.” Sam replied, sensing sudden discomfort in the way Night talked and moved.

They made their way into their rooms, one with a single bed, Stars’, of course, and a room with a double bed, for the couple.

Night dropped all their belongings onto the bed and felt a slight shaking. He looked out the window, and saw a warrior outside. A huge beast, easily ten times the size of the warrior, was brawling with the warrior. Apparently, the beast was alone. But the warrior wasn’t. He had a priest behind him, green sparks towards the warrior each time he took a hit. Night also noticed knives flying towards the beast.

A hermit, followed by a being created from solid shadows, mimicked the behavior of the hermit, hurled star after star towards them.

“Stay calm. A brave group has volunteered to keep the ship safe from Balrogs. Certain death will occur if you decide to walk outside.” , the loudspeaker boomed.

The balrog was done for. But it had one thing left to do before it died.

Sensing that it was going nowhere but hell fighting with the warrior, it flew away from the warrior, away from his strikes, towards the hermit.

The hermit sensed this coming, but could do little to stop it.

Suddenly, the hermit was flying over the rail of the ship. His steely clattered to the board of the deck.

A Holy Arrow pierced the chest of the Balrog. A dark portal opened up, as the Balrog was absorbed into the cold depths of hell.

No blood was shed. There were two casualties : the Balrog and the hermit.

Night looked away from the window. He no longer wanted to look. He kissed Sam, already sleeping, on the forehead, and then fell asleep himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A loud quake rumbled through the ship, waking any sleeping passengers. They had arrived.

Night quickly grabbed their things, and picked Sam up in his arms. She was still sleeping. He ran out of the boat, searching for Stars.

Stars appeared at the end of the quickly dispersing crowd. The ship was already leaving again. The captain had created a small grave for the hermit, at the dock area.

The grave consisted of a stone tablet, the words Rest In Peace : Replacement 178-205, a mound of dirt, and a couple of roses in several different colors.

The hermit had been young.

They walked towards the main part of Orbis, where people sold their items and where there was an inn.

A woman at the counter of the inn greeted them kindly with a welcome. She showed them to their rooms, then wished them a good rest before leaving.

Although they had slept already, Sam and Night fell asleep immediately. Stars lay on the bed, an insomniac. Their final truly relaxed rest before they would live nomadically, following creatures for training.

I didn’t feel like sleeping, so I made the next installment. My maple is working in and out, so I can’t really play. Darn, I planned on getting my archer to 27 tonight.