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Just around dawn Deo finally showed up humming cheerfully to himself with a bag of supplies for the trip he had planned for them, he, his little sister and his new found pet would be going to a port city in Barthavos dessert, the city of Strata. There he would show the two youths the grand exotic excitements that life could offer, even a life as expectedly short as his pets, she wouldn't last a century so he had to show it all to her now. She had had a very hard life, he had to let her drink deeply of wonderful sights and sounds while she could fully accept them. It was a shame to waste the years of ones life not enjoying everything the world had to offer, and with such a long lifespan Deo knew this and regretted the long years he spent with his race guarding things that had been long forgotten about and no one would ever go looking for, sleeping for years at a time. He refused to waste his long life not enjoying the places he liked or going where ever he pleased, looking for adventure.

Of coarse, adventure was not the only reason for this trip, he had business in Barthavos dessert, it was very important he get to the queen mother's temple, the red prince was looking to strike Rhodes down and take his place as king if the Couatl, Deo was going to make damn sure none of the royal treasure would fall to him, and for that he must get to the mother before Rhodes falls, he knew Rhodes was strong, but his father was so old Deo knew he could not fight off the red prince forever. He wondered for a second what the queen would think of his little sister, she was not of pure blood but was certainly still royalty, hopefully the mother would not be upset.

He found Acacia and Meggie in the middle of the floor sleeping, cards still in their hands, they must have been waiting up for him, he looked at his sisters peacfully sleeping face, she was just a child and already she had grown to be beautiful, he was almost sure the mother would be pleased with her, he certainly was. He sighed and kicked off his boots, in 3 days they would be on a boat to Strata, he hoped very much his little pet would enjoy very much what he had planned for her.

"Look bro I don't need new clothes, seriously I'm fine with what I have." They had been arguing about it for the last 20 minutes, after spending all morning playing dressup with Meggie and buying her a ton of new clothing for the trip ahead Deo had turned his attentions to his scruffy little sister, true he thought she was a very beautiful young lady but she didn't dress like a lady at all, much less a proper princess, but what would the queen mother care? Winged snakes didn't wear clothing after all. Oh well, it bothered HIM and that was all that mattered, he just wanted to get her into a nice dress was all, and maybe get rid of the long matted dreadlocks she was sporting, they might have been suited for scrambling about dense forests but she wasn't running around like a wild animal anymore, even Meggie had managed to keep her hair from reaching a state of unmanagable tangles.
"Then why dear sister are you running around with your underwear exposed?" True, Acacia was sporting nothing but a netted top over her strapless black bra but it wasn't exactly indecent, she didn't exactly have anything to show off in that particular area. A shame, Deo knew her mother had been very blessed in that area.
"Because nobody cares! Its comfortable." Deo rolled his eyes, she almost seemed beyond reaching, he just had to find the young lady burried there somewhere, there had to be one.
"At least let me buy you a proper shirt! Surely you can't object to one little shirt?" It was tempting but Acacia knew if he got down to shopping for her she'd end up with way more than just a shirt, his snake nature would slyly begin to pick out other things "oh this would look nice, why don't you just TRY this?" It was a trap waiting to be sprung.
"No." Deo was starting to lose patience, he loved shopping for girls, you could find so much more variety.
"Fine, at least get rid of the dreads, they'll just get sand stuck in them and your head will get too heavy." This was common sense, dreads were just plain impracticle for a desert trip.
"No."
"Acacia." There was a dangerous edge to his voice and a look of poison in his eyes at she looked up at him. "I am not compromising on this one you must get rid of them, I can help you grow your hair the way you want it if you like but you are not keeping those filthy ropes." There was finality in his voice and Acacia knew one way or another she was not going to have her dreads at the end of the day.
"Fine..." She pouted. "But no new clothes!" She demanded. Deo smirked at her, he had won.
"We will see dear sister." He chucked as they turned down a side street to where Deo knew there was a hair dresser somewhere.

The young woman was standing on a building's roof, overlooking the town. The cloth around her body prevented any wind chill from touching her skin, and the scarf over her head kept her blazing red hair in check. If it wasn't for the movement of her cloth, one would swear that she was a misplaced mannequin or statue. Green eyes with slitted pupils watched the activity of the people below her, and her height made her hard to see for all but the most aware of citizens.

For now, that's all that happened. She thought on things, observed, and kept a song in her head. If one were to approach her now, they would be unable to tell her demeanor through her eyes, for they showed none.

Ruuvan would be sure to thank Evan for the car later, but for now he was fine with letting it eat up the distance between Durem and Latent, leaning back in the seat with one hand on the wheel, nearly breaking the speed limit and listening to the local radio station. He figured it was best to keep it on Durem as Latent might not have its own, or if it did it might not be that good a station anyway. No, he was fine where he was.

As he approached the entrance to the town, noticing there were no booths as such and he wouldn't need to come to a complete stop, Ruuvan leant over and dialled Evan's office from the cars built in phone. He waited for his secretary to answer before speaking into what he assumed was the mouthpiece, leaving a message for when he wasn't on business.
"Morning, Evan, its Ruuvan." He let off the throttle and tapped the breaks until he came to a stop outside The Fallen Star tavern, one of the places the barman had mentioned, "I'm just about to ask some question about this stone. I should be able to get it tomorrow of this lead turns out to be good." Ruu hung up the connection without giving a formal ending to the message, figuring the woman on the other end would be able to think of something, and turned off the engine for a second time that day. He wasn't one to normally like cars, but this one was an exception. Sighing slightly and pulling himself from the seat, Ruu locked the car, made sure his personal safety equipment was still in place and made his entrance into the tavern.

He got much the same response as the one in Durem, but this one wasn't full of the all day drinkers, instead it was full of hard working people who just wanted some time off through their hard day. He could see some of them were obviously miners, what with the heavy clothing and slightly messy faces, and he also spied the old man sitting in the corner; but first he'd make sure that he was the right guy.
"Morning, sir. I was wondering if you could tell me something."
"Looking for the stone, eh?" Ruuvan was lost for words to say the least, but he nodded slowly and waited for him to continue, "The guy in the corner is who you're looking for, but I wouldn't listen to him. Most other people have looked for what you're after and they haven't come back... just a warning, friend." The man nodded and grinned slightly, getting back to his tasks around the counter. Ruuvan, still recovering slightly from practically having his mind read, made his way over to the old man and took a seat opposite him.
"I've heard you know about the stone in the silver mines. Care to tell me?" He didn't know what the guy would say, nor if it would help, but he waited patiently anyway.

There were many ways Ruu could go about answering his question, mainly with the different things he could say. Was he there to steal the stone for personal profit? Did he want to piss of the gods for no particular reason? The list went on, but Ruuvan had an answer in mind that would possibly shake the locks from the old man's lips and get him the information he desired.
"I've heard legendary warriors protect the stones and only the strongest can best their challenge: I wish to prove myself." It wasn't so much a lie as an exagerated aspect of the main reason he was going; Evan was paying him to get the stones, but he also warned about the challenge in getting such a thing, hence proving oneself to the gods themselves.

The answer turned out to have a better affect than he expected; the old man actually lifted his head and continued with, what Ruuvan thought, a well revised story he had told all of the adventurers seeking the stone before him. This was not to say he didn't take it to heart, but he was just glad to get things cleared up and finally get a location within the mines he had to aim for.
"When I make it back, I'll get you a drink in thanks." Ruuvan smiled and nodded to the man - there was no 'if' about it, he would come back having proved himself to the warrior and give Evan the stone he wanted, "Good day to you." He pulled himself from the chair and gave a slight bow to the man, nodding to the barman as he left the tavern and walked back to the car. Ruu slipped the pistol from the back of his jeans and placed it alongside his rifle in the duffel bag, but he didn't leave it at that. With only one combat knife in his right boot, he took that out and replaced it with a pack of three well-balanced throwing knives on each thigh and his two Decker blades across his back; he was ready. He made sure the car was locked and headed Northeast out of the town, going for the mining community.

~Wayne's World-type Time Warp~

It took around half an hour of walking before Ruuvan reached the entrance to the mine, not a soul in sight as it was most likely lunch hour or something. That was a good thing, it meant less people asking questions as to why he was walking into the mines armed with so many sharp implements. Ruu drew both the Zatokens from their sheaths and made his way slowly through the shafts, navigating his way to the centre. He was far from there and something was bound to happen, most likely demi-guardians as a warm up group, but he would save his transformation and magic for the final fight if he could help it.

Then it happened; dazzled ber her beauty and sudden apperance, Ruuvan stopped in his tracks and looked at the woman. It was a wonder how someone could be so calm facing a military dressed man with two swords in his hands, but Ruuvan figured something would happen and nothing would phase whatever being appeared, however he wasn't expecting such a figure of beauty to shine out in the dark surroundings; it was a mine, fer christ's sake.
"I can't say a bad word against it ma'am." Ruu smiled slightly and continued on his way to the mine entrance, but he figured she'd stop him again and maybe ask his intentions. He was thinking she was either this legendary warrior he had to fight or maybe one of the fallen valkyries coming back as a spirit to disuade him, but he'd find out soon enough.