Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kin's expression jumped and stared at Minatsuki with a confused and uncomfortable glare. "I don't know." Kin said quickly and moved away from Minatsuki a few steps so he was out of touching distance and continued following Sai.

Now that the crowd had finally backed up a short distance Sai and Stratus both breathed a breath of relief. Neither of them were comfortable with so much undivided attention. Sai accepted the pouch from Vilya with both hands and a slight bow of the head.

"Thank you." He said and then passed the bag to Stratus who opened his pack and deposited the pouch within before re-closing the pack. Neither of them made any comment on what seemed to be a sizable amount of currency that resided in that small pouch.

"Kaoru, it is a pleasure to meet you. And it is an honor to have been able to assist in the recovery of your stolen items." Sai said, then turned back to his allies. "Kin, Vilya, Minatsuki, I am assuming that all four of us intend to challenge the Sage of this city. I intend to make my way there now, would the three of you like to accompany me there. Or do you think it would be more prudent to arrange for a place to stay for the night first?"

"Yes," Sai said in agreement with Vilya and matching her awe. "Thank you, very much" He bowed deeply to her out of gratitude and respect.

He rose from the bow and took his staff from where it was tied tightly to his bag. He held the dark wooden shaft in one hand and allowed some of his weight to rest on it. This was an unnecessary habit that he had picked up from his master. His master had been the one to teach him how to use a staff as a weapon. The man had also had a bad knee, so he had always walked his his staff for support. Through their time together, through the teachings and training, Sai had unconsciously adopted the habit, though in his case it was entirely unnecessary.

"Please, lead the way."

Stratus thought.

Sai said, mimicking one of Stratus's usual responses.

Stratus responded monotone, not bothered by, but merely acknowledging the lighthearted mockery.





Sais thoughts in Stratus mind trailed off while new ones began in his own head.

It was not far out of the city walls. The road turned to dirt as they left the north gates and was flanked on each side by large fields.
At one point there was a small turn off that at once lead to a wide, paved pathway. They followed it over the brow of a hill and all of a sudden were standing in front of a big, white marble castle. The wrought-iron gates were also white and at each side of them stood a snarling stone dragon.
Beyond the gates Vilya could see a wide courtyard, decorated with small flower beds, a pond and in the center of it all, a modest fountain that sprayed water straight up so it tumbled back upon itself. No ornate carvings or ferocious beats graced it's plain basins.
Vilya whistled. "I don't think I've ever seen a building this big. You mean to say you actually live in there?"
They had nothing like this in the south grasslands. Sure she had read about castles, but it was up to her imagination to piece the words into a picture and it fell short of the real thing...very short.
Tura seemed unaffected.
"You can wait in the court yard while I speak to my grandfather, if you're lucky you might even get to fight him this afternoon."
Kaoru went over to the side of the gate where a thick piece of rope was suspended from a big, bronze bell. She swung it as hard as she could and watched as the bell bucked with the force, ringing loud and clear to the highest towers in the castle.

Vilya turned and just had time to make a face before her attention was taken back. Behind the battlements a large figure appeared, it was a dragon. She was a fair size, the length of two horses with sleek sky-blue scales and darker leathery wings.
She leapt easily into the air and glided down to the main gate to greet them. As she landed gracefully Vilya saw the long, curved sails that lead to her ears and caught a glimpse of thin slits in her neck.

Tura nodded, not looking around at her companion.
Kaoru waved to her as she unlocked the gate with a means Vilya could not see. The large bars sung to, and the dragoness stood back, letting them into the courtyard.
Just as she stepped through Vilya turned. "He should not be trusted in a place like this." She announced, looking directly at Raidek.
A low rumble from the water dragon's throat made her look around. Tura stepped beside her.

Vilya stood in silence for a moment, then reluctantly stepped aside.

Lessir had extended the invitation to all who stood there, then waited patiently for the creatures to translate for their humans.

"Sai..." Raidek nodded in his direction.



Raidek stepped forward towards the group, stopping before Sai, "I was wondering if we could talk a moment about last night."

"I would like to again apologize about last nights...incident."


"I believe there is a way you could find trust in me. Each of your party is here to try their luck against the dragon sage yes? Perhaps we could talk with him and work out some kind of pair or team battle. This way you can find trust in me, and it will better our chances at succeeding.

"So its settled then." Raidek nodded.




Raidek smiled a little behind the mask, and yet still felt unsettled, knowing that the others would not be comfortable with his presence in this venture.