Word Count 777
Slowly the rumors had made their way to Jauhar and the Alkidike tribe. Ariya had managed to catch snippets of the rumors from Vendors when she frequented a marketplace. She wasn't sure just how much of them were true though. After all her mother had told her that earthlings were wretched and dangerous creatures and here she was among them without a scratch. Perhaps it was merely their imaginations running wild? Or could it be that the extremists that had made it to the island were doing things to make others more afraid of them? It was definitely something to think about. And of course she wouldn't put it past an extremists to come up with such an idea.
She took a deep breath and shook her head. Ariya had to admit, the radical ideas of those sisters seemed to have no bounds. Though it made her question if they would rise up against those they had left behind. Maybe she should look into it? After all she was training to become a guardian of the Alkidike way. It was her duty to make sure there was no threat to Aisha and the Alkidikes. Now all she needed to do was find one of these Yaeli people. Well, she knew where to find a bunch of them, on Yael, but she knew they were afraid of outsiders.
So she wondered if the rumors about some of the Yaeli leaving the island was true. If it was then she could ask one of them. Clearly they weren't as afraid as their island dwelling counterparts. Feeling that she now had a plan of action she moved along heading down the road. Then a conversation made her pause. Whispers about a black creature with glowing eyes that terrorized the Yaeli people.
Black skin? She only knew of a few dark skinned earthlings but none that were black. Glowing eyes? Well didn't they say that the Yaeli had that feature? Could it be one of their own that was trying to scare the extremist Alkidikes away? Ariya furrowed her brow. If it was simply one of the Yael inhabitants then it was none of her business. After all, they didn't take to outsiders so maybe one of them had come up with a plan to try and rid their island of them. Feeling like she needed to better understand what was going on she turned toward those that were gossiping.
“Excuse me.. where did you hear the rumor about the evil looking creature?” She wasn't looked upon kindly. Some people still wondered if some extremists had managed to stay in Chibale by simply not voicing their opinions. So it took a while before one of the group decided to speak to her. They looked her over inch by inch then raised a single eyebrow.
“We heard it from a bard. He just came from Oba you know.” Their voice was snooty as they spoke but Ariya paid no mind to it. She was more intent on the content of their words. Someone from Oba had brought the news north.
“Interesting.” Was all she said in regards to the answer she'd gotten.
“Thank you.” That done she walked away from the group, leaving them to continue their gossip. Ariya smiled to herself. She was already headed south on her way to find a mount so it wouldn't be out of her way to investigate the rumors a bit more. It seemed that someone in Oba knew something.
“I wonder if it was a Yaeli that started the story.” Her question came out. It made sense, Yael was only across the waters from Oba and Matori. Thankfully she had paid attention to a map. Ariya was sure she would find one of the glowing eyed earthlings there or somewhere abouts there.
“I guess I should get moving.” First things first.. she needed more supplies. It looked as though she was going to be headed straight for Oban territory and not taking any detours.
“I better get some daggers as well..” Obans weren't exactly on her top friendliest people list. They had killed her mothers. She wouldn't let that be her fate since she had something more important to deal with. The possibility that there was something out there that would or could threaten the Alkidike way of life. Even Aisha. And she could not allow that to happen, not while she lived.
“Should have asked that one sister to travel with me.. She was pretty strong.” The worry for her was real. She hadn't been fully trained yet.
“Oh well, I will have to look into this rumor on my own.”
