The sudden magical shudder, like a drawing out of miles of coastline to form an equally miles high tidal wave, nearly throws Stasolya off of her hooved feet. It shakes her magical fey body and mind to their core, and she feels it like an excruciating pain. Her hooves splay out as she stumbles, ducking her forehead into the palm of one hand and using the other to unconsciously grasp the AURYN medallion around her neck. "O Snow-White Empress, save us!" she cries.

When the event is over, she is on her knees, face buried in her hands and her plaid cloak thrown over her head as if in deep grief. Centaurs who hold the traditions of the world intact in their stories feel hard the rupture of those ordered threads. She doesn't respond to Atreyu's words. A Kruthik nest... we must help these people. The thought little rouses her. She tries to pull herself together. This is the time when we must be strong!

When Atreyu asks for the AURYN, she straightens just enough to take it off and reverently hand it it to him. "Save us," she whispers, as if to the medallion, before it leaves her fingers.

Cinder remains motionless for a time after the shudder stops. It reminded her of the flames that erupted from her all those months (or maybe years?) ago, only a thousand fold stronger. She shakes her head, banishing the memory of ash and burning buildings. When she regains her composure she looks to Atreyu and asks "So was that good or bad? And what is the Alicorn?"

Malenia widens her stance, bracing herself from the tremors cause by the magical shudder. She flicks the wrist of her Prosthesis in responce, causing her hilt to eject out into her awaiting palm. Gripping it tightly in her hand, more as a means of comfort than in response to a far off danger. 

Once it passes, she regains her normal posture and returns her hilt to its concealed position within her Prosthesis. "What was that?" She speaks softly, not a question meant to be answered, more speaking to the air. 

"It's nothing good."  Atreyu says.  He runs his fingers through his hair.  "See, I don't know if you know, or if I told you.  Things have been fuzzy the last few days, since my fall.  But, the Lord of Darkness sent Blix and a band of Goblins to the Faron Woods in Eternia, where they ambushed the last two unicorns.  The stallion was slain, and when he was killed, Blix took his Alicorn.  The horn is a conduit for powers unfathomable...but not only that.  The survival of the world is tied directly to the unicorns.  The mare...now the last of her kind...if she dies...the suns will never rise again.  Hyboria will freeze in perpetual night.  And when you take that sort of power and put it into mortal hands...especially hands that would do ill with it... well..."  

Atreyu paused here, a shudder rolling through his body.  He reaches out, gingerly taking the AURYN Medallion for a moment.  

"Blix never gave the Alicorn to the Lord of Darkness as he was supposed to.  That's good, I guess, because Darkness knows how to use it and the Goblin doesn't but...Blix is unpredictable and dangerous.  There's not telling what he'll do with it.  And if he's used it..."

The boy doesn't finish this thought.  He steps away, AURYN in hand, and begins to speak, not returning until a few minutes have passed.  

"The Ivory Tower doesn't answer."  He said softly.  "That worries me."

Stasolya stays kneeling on the ground, hooves scattered under her, her head bowed, her face in her hands, and her plaid still thrown over her head. Then she begins to sing, the tune a plaintive, mourning cry.

"O spiraled crux of worlds free,
Torn from the brow that sheltered thee.
In goblin hands the darkness reigns,
The Ivory Tower needs a name..."

"Then we make for the Ivory tower then?" Malenia looks to her new comrades, searching their faces for their willingness to help. "I....feel it is in our best interest if we offer our aid in whatever manner we can." She pauses, letting Stasolya finish her prayer. 

"I am not a being of faith, But I will aid you if you wish to proceed Stasolya. You will have my saber at your side." 

"And what will you do then?"  Atreyu asks, kind of agitated but trying not to be.  "Who's going to find Princess Zelda then?  I need you here.  If we don't have her...well.  Queen Bavmorda cannot have her.  We cannot allow Lord Vader or Ganondorf to find her either.  If you go to the Ivory Tower...who will do that?"  

Atreyu pauses and takes a deep breath.  His fingers comb through his hair, pulling out road knots.  

"The other bands will have to do their part.  The Ivory Infantry will protect the tower.  We stay our paths, or everything comes apart."  

Atreyu dusted himself off, composed himself.  He looked around, between toward the northwest.  He hands the AURYN Medallion back to Stasolya.  

"I think this is as far as I go with you."  Atreyu finally said.  "I have my own path to walk now.  As for the Kruthik's...there's a mine on the outskirts of town.  A gem mine, I think.  Doesn't matter.  The Kruthik's are in the mine.  I think Jappiter makes a lot of its money mining and exporting these gems so they're keen to see them ran out of the mine.  You can get more information at the mining camp, just north of town, or at the Mayor's office, I believe.  For now...I have done what I can.  Good luck to you all."

And like that, Atreyu turned into the desert...and began to walk away.

Malenia folds her arms across her stomach, beyond the hood and crimson hair covering her fair features. She hides a stain of fear in her eyes. Atreyu is of course right, but she does not know how any of them could possibly stand against....him. 

"Well.....I guess we make for the mayor's house?" She clears a lump in her throat, swallowing back her fear for the moment. 

Ventris, who has been fairly quiet since the departure from Argos, finally speaks up. “Yes, I believe heading towards the mayor’s office is the best option available to us.” Ventris pauses for a moment. “It has dawned on me that we have been traveling together for nearly a week and I haven’t the curtesy to introduce myself properly. I am Ventris Nisei, humble servant of the Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore. May their blessings help us throughout our journeys.”

Stasolya, still bowed down on the ground, seems to be renewed with a sudden inner strength when Atreyu hands the Auryn back to her. Her head lifts up, eyes shining, as she reverently takes it, and she scrambles back to her feet. She smiles broadly at Malenia. "While there is still yet work to be done, valiant hearts must do it."

As Atreyu takes his leave and walks away into the desert, Stasolya watches him go mournfully. How will we ever find the Princess? We must do all that we can to try. She stands watching him for a moment, and then grasping the Auryn, raises it high above her head. "For the Ivory Tower!" she cries, as if in a salute to him.

She turns back to the group, her eyes down towards the ground now, as she places the medallion around her neck. "Let's go to the Mayor's office," she agrees with the others. "We've not another lead right now, and if we can do some good, perhaps it will help us to enlist the people here in sympathy for the cause of the Empress. I'm very glad to meet you all!  My name is Stasolya, of the Kiros clan."

The Mayor's house overlooked the open common of the Old Ward and Highrow.  The heat of the day had most of the town folk indoors, including the Mayor, who was sitting in the shade of the interior of his office smoking a pipe and going over a report that detailed the mine output for the last few weeks.  He was sweating, with sweat dripping from his nose and matting her hair and slicking his fat, sausage fingers.  He kept having to dry his face and hands with a handkerchief, even as the band entered.  

"Aya."  He said, seeing them, including the Centaur, squeeze their way into his office.  He leaned back, the smoke from his pipe creating a fog around his head.  "Can I help ye fine folks?"  

Ventris quickly steps up. “Apologies for bothering you, I’m sure you’re very busy. But me and my companions have a few questions about the gem mine. We hear your having trouble?”

"Yeah, we heard you've got a kruthik problem?" Cinder says ignoring any formalities. She sits herself down in a chair and props up her boots on his desk. "Are they new? Or a recurring pest?" While waiting for an answer Cinder leans back in the chair enjoying the heat of the day.

The Mayor squints as these new comers enter his office.  He listens to the Cleric, then his eyebrows raise as he sees the Tiefling's boots come up on his desk.  He looks surprised, then leans forward, the considerable bulk of his table-muscle pushing against the edge of his desk while fat fingers (that look like they might have grease on them like he's been eating) fall on Cinder's boots and he shoves her feet off the desk.  He waste's no time addressing the issue.  He sits back with a huff, his face now red as he struggles to catch his breath.

"Ayup."  He says, reaching up to wipe sweat from his brow with a greasy hand.  "Ayup, that's right.  Plenty of trouble, ayup.  Kruthiks.  Mine's full of 'em.  Well, we sees 'em from time to time, you un'erstand, but uh..ayup.  Lots of 'em this time.  We've shut the mine down, so we have.  Bad business, they are.  And bad for business, too!  Aya, but I apologize.  I'm Mayor Thorin.  And-uh...you are?"  

Stasolya stands tall but respectfully, hands clasped, her plaid cloak fastened across her shoulders again. "We are travellers, good sir, and we heard of your plight from a traveling companion whom we recently parted ways with. Sad to hear of your trouble, we thought perhaps we might be able to offer you some help in clearing out the mine."

She smiles brightly. "My name is Stasolya, of the Kiros clan. It's my honor to meet the fair mayor of this town!"

"I am Malenia" Stepping to the front of the group, side eyeing Cinder for the bold and offensive behaviour. "These are my companions, Ventris, Stasolya, Pag and Cinder" While introducing her companions, Malenia is gesturing to each in an effort to divert Thorin's vision from herself as she attempts to subtlely scan any papers on his desk. 

Malenia is attempting to get a look at the papers on his desk, Looking specifically for any information about Kruthiks. 

Perception check of 17 In Game Log. 

"Pah, an honor!  I'm a fat old man keeping the books for a backwa'er in the blasted desert!  Pah, I say!"  Mayor Thorin says, even if he does smile a little at Stasolya's words.  "Ayup, but, there's pay for anyone who clears 'em out.  Oughta be a easy job, maybe.  Probably.  Maybe not, I dunno.  Anywaddles.  I think there may be a map here...maybe...som'eres."

A brief, tentative knocking on the door signals that there is someone else in the mayor's office behind the party, though it's hard to be sure exactly when she entered.  Or why.  In fact, it's not clear she knows why herself.

The half-elven woman wears mottled green studded leather with a dark green face scarf.  Armed with a longbow on her shoulder and less-used rapier at her hip, she looks around uncertainly at the group, straightening instinctively as a soldier might in front of superior officers.  Her eyes are green too, and her hair is dirty blond, both in color and possibly in cleanliness.  She speaks in a strange, halting accent from across the Wide Sea.

"I... one of my mates Emmett.  I heard he got himself killed by one of those Kruthiks.  I don't believe it, myself," she drawls in a morose deadpan.

"Old Emmett was always lucky.  Not like me.  Heard he got knocked clean off a cliff by one of those Kruthiks and missed every sharp rock on the way down, landing in a nice, deep pool of water.  Lucky, lucky Emmett.  Sure he was dead already on account of the Kruthik putting a spike through his face before knocking him off, but still damn lucky, missing those rocks and hitting the pool.  Maybe if I find him, some of his luck will rub off on me..."

She casts her eyes down.  "Anyway, I'm Ereni.  Need an archer?  Or a scout?  I... I'll be going there anyway," she finishes, somewhat lamely.

Stasolya startles slightly at the half-elf's entrance, tail swishing. She turns to look at the newcomer, listening to her report.

"It sounds like a significant problem," she says softly to the Mayor. "Let's go and see what we can do." To the half-elf, "We'll come with you, Ereni. My name is Stasolya."

Malenia steps beside Stasolya, looking over the newcomer as she relayed a story and her name. "Yeah we could likely provide aid." Brushing a strand of crimson from her eye. "Ereni, I am Malenia. We could use the expertise of a seasoned scout." She looks around to her companions, attempting to gauge their willingness to add another to their number. "Pity about your mate, My sympathies." She gives a slight bow in offering her condolences.