"AOTO, WHERE ARE YOU?" Garius said, huffing and puffing, right after he kicked open the doors.
Looking around, he could immediately get the vibe that the situation was not the one he had in his mind.
"Aoto? You here?"
GARIUS! I've missed you, I'm so sorry about wandering off from the pub, I just couldn't help myself.
Nearly at tears, Garius could tell that Aoto was okay mentally, maybe a little tattered, but he would manage. It was a whole different story physically. It had only been about three days since Garius last saw Aoto, and his appearance had changed drastically.
"Aoto, what on God's barren land happened to you?"
[Aoto chuckled a bit, looking uncomfortable.] A lot happened. I'll be sure to tell you, but just not here.
"You better, I mean, just look at yourself in the mirror, your eye, and not to mention that thing around your head."
What thing?
[Garius lifted his hands up to his head and made the outline of Aoto's Halo around his head]
Standing up, Aoto walked past Garius, Thadius, and Heathrow, walking straight towards the back left corner of the office, because there happened to be a mirror mounted on the wall.
Standing before the mirror, Aoto saw that his Halo had sprouted its ring again. Confused, Aoto began to touch it.
Oooo, that feels good.
[All the men in the room smirk, watching Aoto touch his Halo]
"Aoto, come back here and sit, you too, Garius, come here and take my seat, sit before Heathrow and me."
Thadius got up from his seat and walked to the back of Heathrow's chair, standing behind him, lurking like a shadow.
"Humph"
Both Aoto and Garius were sitting in the chairs in front of Thadius and Heathrow, simply awaiting whatever came next.
"Aoto, I know you're not from this world, so I won't bother you with these questions, but just listen."
Aoto nodded to Thadius, letting him know he understood.
"Garius, how familiar are you with this world? I don't mean our empire and the local empires around us; I'm talking about the whole world."
Garius, now completely calmed, could answer all the questions Thadius asked, his head cleared now knowing that Aoto was safe.
Not much, to be frank with you, I'm loosely familiar with the Empires outside of our local reach like Mirad but besides that I'm as clueless as this dumbass next to me. [Referring to Aoto]
"That's okay, you'll learn in due time, both of you will, what do you know about our nation's military standings?" [Thadius, yet again, became serious, seemingly staring into Garius's soul, awaiting his answer]
Our military standings? I couldn't tell you anything of actual use.
"That's surely the same, then."
Disappointed in Garius's answer, Thadius began considering whether bringing Garius along with Aoto was smart, since he was never a part of the original plan until Garius came up with something.
I can tell that as of last year, maybe a year and a half ago, the troops here seem to be leaving in swarms, going to God knows where, if I had to guess, Zesa. It's not just military, though, priests, church members, and even bounders.
Around a month ago, I went to the surface to view the sun. It had been so long since I truly saw it. Now, while it was a wasteland, I could have sworn I saw swarms of Troops from our cities to the south heading north towards Zesa.
If I were a betting man, something big, maybe even a war, is in play.
During his rant, he looked down at his hands until he finished speaking. He looked back up to see Thadius's face, which wore a hideous smile.
Grinning from ear to ear, he looked so overcome with joy that his heart would stop, even Heathrow could be seen with a smile.
"I knew you were something special, Garius, just like your father, what a wonderful tactician you will be."
The room seemingly went silent after Thadius let the words "your father" out of his mouth.
My father?
"Yes, certainly your father, one of the best tractors I've ever met."
Did you know my father? You knew my father, please, Sir Siprel, tell me more!
[Thadius unlatched his mighty axe from his back, slamming it onto the ground.]
"BANG"
"Apologies, Aoto, but you do not get his liberty, so I will extend it to Garius."
Huh? What liberty, and why am I not having it extended to me?
"Garius, you can join Aoto along his journey to Zesa, or you may leave here today and continue living your life as it was before meeting this boy."
[Garius paused to think on how he should respond, rubbing his chin]
What exactly does it entail? What exactly will we be doing?
"I'm so glad you asked for the next 5 years. I will be the caretaker and mentor for this boy, and I am willing to extend that offer to you as well. If you're skeptical of my motives, consider me repaying your father."
See, you make it sound like an offer I couldn't refuse. Being almost one-on-one and mentored by Thadius Siprel, how stupid would I be to say no?
[Thadius seemed full of himself after hearing Garius talk him up so much}
Cut the sh*t Thadius you're leaving something important out.
"HA HA HAHAHAHA NOTHING GETS BY YOU DOES IT, AWW"
[Thadius, wiping the tears out of his eyes, walked over to Garius's side, placing his hand on Garius's right shoulder and leaning over to Garius's ear, he spoke]
"I can't tell you that, so make the choice, what I can say, in no way will it be a cake walk, both of you will suffer, maybe even die, and if that's the case they you weren't built for this world."
"BOOM BOOM POP HAHAHA"
What's going on? Thadius, Garius, Mr. Heathrow, what's that noise?
"Looks like your offers are on hold, Mosscrest. Think about it until we can continue this."
All for men got up, having Thadius and Heathrow take the lead, charging for the door only to open it to see that the guild had been taken hostage by followers of time.
"To what pleasure do I owe this rude entrance, Timber Beast?"
Thadius and the rest standing at the guild's top were safe from the followers' magic since they were out of range, being left to strategize what they should do.
"Listen, Garius and Aoto, you too, just stay in my office and lock the doors, and since Thadius and I are the veterans, we'll handle this. Don't come out until you hear me tell you."
What? No, we're not just gonna stay put, I wanna fight right Aoto?
Aoto stayed silent, fearful of what might happen.
"Humph" "BooM"
"THADIUS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? COME BACK WE NEED A PLAN"
"AWW GO F*CK YOUR PLAN I'M GETTING IN THIS, I'VE BEEN FEELING SO CRAMMED IN THIS CITY, IT'S TIME TO UNWINED."