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Well, no worries my friend. Now that you're done with your shopping, is there anything else you want to do before it gets too late?

They still had a good few hours of acceptable daylight left, and since Maximos was the guest here, Ryugi decided he'd leave it up to the shadowy man to make the decision of what to head off to do next.

Well, I don't really know. You already got a good taste of Angara's history back in Presea, so history is more or less out... What about if I show you the Hall of Elders?

Ryugi would grin. Maximos had likely seen the building while they were coming over the hill, but it was unlikely that he had really SEEN the building. And Ryugi was positive a man like Maximos would enjoy seeing the architecture and the beauty of the place as well.

Well, no. We don't get to meet them. By myself I don't have enough power to simply request a period of time with the elders for sight seeing. I CAN, however, show you the outside building, which in and of itself is something to behold.

Ryugi smiled and motioned for Maximos to follow him as he made his way towards the massive building at the head of the city.

Ryugi continued to make his way across the city and soon reached the outside of the massive building. The white sides of the building seemed to glow slightly with the rays from the sun, and the brilliant blue banner swayed gently in the afternoon breeze as Ryugi and Maximos approached. As they drew nearer, one would see four members of the Ceremonial Guard standing watch over the massive stairs leading to the entrance of the building. On either side of the stairs were massive stone cubes, and on each of them, stood a white marble statue of a dragon holding a banner in its mouth, etched with the Adamant's Claw, the symbol of Angara. The building itself was lovely and lined with green plants along the walk behind the perimeter fence.

The massive stairs were lined with two walls leading up to a middle area of flat ground, where a massive and elegant fountain of white marble sat. The area was so large it was almost like a small courtyard. In the middle were twin dragons holding up the lowest bowl of the fountain in their claws. Above that, two more dragons held up the second bowl where a dragon head, mouth agape, had water flowing from it and down into the fountain. Children played around the fountain, laughing happily as they enjoyed the sun and the cool water. Around the markings were brilliant blue tiles that formed the image of a dragon flying through the sky. Off to the side were four more cubes with statues on them, the wall passing through the middle of them. And at each one, a member of the guard stood holding a spear, each spear also doubling as a banner holder carrying the Angaran Crest on it.

While Ryugi had said that civilians weren't allowed into council sessions or inside the building, he neglected to mention that people were allowed to gather on the steps outside of the building. Ryugi would stop near the fountain and lean against one of the massive cubes lining the staircase as he admired the building himself. The last time he saw it he'd had little time to admire the grace of the massive structure.

Well, what do you think Max?

Ryugi stopped and looked over at his friend as he leaned against one of the massive cubes.

Well, not too much really. It sounds very familiar, like I SHOULD know it, but nothing comes to mind immediately.

It would seem that Ryugi wasn't really concerned with whatever Maximos had meant with "the truth." If his friend had another reason for wanting to come to Angara, then so be it. It was just another trip across his homeland to him. And if his friend wanted to spend the trip looking for this Ancalagon or whatnot, then so be it. It sounded interesting after all...

Ryugi was quiet as his friend spoke. The tale he told sounded very old, and very familiar. He had indeed heard this story before when he was young. His mother had told it to him as a bedtime story as a lesson to always be courteous to others. Ryugi had always assumed it was just that, a bedtime story. But apparently the story had quite a bit of truth to it.

Come to think of it, my friend, I HAVE heard that story before. And I just might know of the place we should go to start looking for this glass dragon. If you want, we can head out tomorrow. But it will be a long journey. And it'll be a relatively dangerous place as well, but if you're up for it, I'll gladly go by your side.

Ryugi would grin and wait for his friend's reply.

Ryugi would wait a minute to see if the shadowy man figured out he was heading in the wrong direction, but seeing that he did not, Ryugi would follow him and speak, chuckling to himself.

As awesomely dramatic as that exit was, our inn is that-a-way.

The pointing finger lead the way.

Ryugi chuckled and after a time, the two were on the way back to the inn.



The next morning after a good night's sleep and some tinkering, the pair were setting off from the City of Elders. But before they began, Ryugi had some questions for Maximos.

Alright Max. I suppose I'd better tell you about my ideas. My guess is that this dragon would be in the Suhalla Desert. Its the most dangerous sand based area in Angara, and easily the hiding place of choice for a sand dragon turned to glass. However, you also said you'd wanted to learn about some Angaran magical techniques. And I only know of one place where you'd be able to do that.

That would be at the Altin Shrine. However, they're both in opposite directions. So, we'll need to decide what we'll hit first. What do you think? I think that you might benefit from your visit to the shrine, and might gain some insight into new abilities that could help us in our travels.