Tam-Tara
As the sun began to set, Bentbranch Meadow burst alive at the mention of newcomers to their village, for they rarely had any visitors. As Takayoshi and Takahide endured the shouting, compliments about their own looks, and friendly banter, they eagerly followed Elina and her Grandmother toward the village chieftain's house.
Once inside, the brothers let out a relieved sigh as they followed Elina to the Chieftain's office while her Grandmother went to calm down the growing crowd outside. "Sheesh, is it always like this when people come in the village, or are we special?" Takahide asked with an annoyed look. He rather despised being the center of attention.
Elina let out a peal of pleasant laughter and said "Yes, you are quite special since we never get any visitors besides from the occasional Twin Adder patrol." A thin smile spread across Takahide's face as he said, "I can see why they would come all the way out here. Since there's such a beautiful woman here, I'd do everything I could to impress her and all."
Elina giggled softly as she gently pushed Takahide away with a large smile on her face. Soon after, Elina stopped in front of a large, finely crafted oak door and knocked twice before saying "I'll be outside with Grandma if you need me." and giving Takahide a sly wink.
As Elina left, the door opened and a woman with short blonde hair and a mature figure in a maid outfit bowed before saying, "The Chieftain awaits. Please, enter." The brothers walked into a lavish room with dark brown carpet covering the floor with the left wall hidden behind a massive bookcase filled with all kinds of books.
At the back of the room there was a single desk sitting in front of two windows and facing toward the door; a thin man with short gray hair, dark eyes with even darker bags underneath them, and unshaved stubble dotting his chin, sat on a chair behind the desk while finishing a pile of paperwork.
"One moment please, let me finish signing this last notice and I'll speak with you." The man said while furiously scribbling on a rather large piece of paper. "Finally! Now, I suppose I'll have to get a feast started! It's been ages since we last saw some fresh faces!" The man tried to stand up, but he began to wobble before falling forward and catching himself at the last moment.
"Uhhh, are you alright...?" Takahide asked as the maid hurried over to held the man stand up while handing him some water. After draining his cup of its contents, the man nodded his head and said, "Yes, it's just been a long day is all. Now, what brings you two here to our humble village?"
Takayoshi cleared his throat as he crossed his arms and said, "We come seeking direction to New Gridania. We're off to clear two separate dungeons, Tam-Tara Deepcroft and The Thousand Maws of Toto-Rak." The Chieftain's brows furrowed as he tapped a finger against his desk with a looks that conveyed multiple emotions.
"Well, I'd love to accept your help with these matters, but I'm afraid that we don't have enough personnel to tackle these two. The number of monsters inside these dungeons has increased drastically, and now it's taking more time than usual to muster a force capable enough to kill them all, but that only gives the dungeon more time to spawn more monsters I'm afraid..."
Takahide slid his hands into the pockets of his pants and said, "We can do it for you, except it'll come at a price." with a bored expression on his face. After his fight with that Goobbue, Takahide wanted to test the limits of his body so that he could grow strong enough to fight stronger opponents.
"B-By yourselves!? I cannot condone this! No matter how strong you might be, you'll die if you two go into one of those dungeons alone!!" Takayoshi tried to speak over his brother, but Takahide was adamant on correcting the Chieftain. "Actually, we'll be splitting up to take them down at the same time."
The Chieftain almost fell over after hearing Takahide's proclamation, causing Takayoshi to sigh in annoyance before turning to his brother and flicking him hard on his forehead. "Well, we can resume this conversation in the morning. Please, join us for a feast tonight! As Adventurers, you two must have quite the stories to tell!"
Though Takahide wanted to get this "Trial" over with and go back to the comforts of the cave, Takayoshi silenced him by lifted his hand in a threatening manner. After staying and listening to Takayoshi and the Chieftain exchange pleasantries and talk about the various activities that they would hold tonight in honor of their visit, Takahide quickly became bored.
"Your temporary chambers have been prepared, and I would advise you to get ready before the feast begins. If you have no more questions, then you are free to leave and enjoy the rest of the night." The Chieftain bowed slightly and motioned for the maid at the door to guide the brothers to their rooms.
While walking through the halls to their rooms, Takahide and Takayoshi caught glimpses of other maids going about with their duties, only these ones had fluffy tails and ears, unlike the one guiding them. "Heh, so those are Miqo'te? They look even better than how Xymriss described them..." Takahide muttered to himself as he began to look forward to the coming festivities.
As the brothers prepared themselves in their rooms, the village was set into motion as stalls full of food and quality items imported from far off nations rolled into the streets, and as a massive bonfire was lit and people began to dance, sing, and enjoy themselves.
Once the brothers were ready, the maid guided them through the halls of the rather massive house and outside to where all of the fun was to be had. Smiling like a fool, Takahide cast an appreciative gaze over the women dancing around the bonfire as Takayoshi sighed and shook his head with a slight smile on his face.
"Don't indulge yourself too much, now. You still have a dungeon to clear, and your skills are lacking when compared to what they were before." Takahide waved a wand at his brother as he rolled his eyes and muttered "Party pooper. Maybe that's why women don't like you..."
Before Takayoshi could say anything else, however, Takahide had already walked off to a nearby food stall to grab something to eat while simultaneously talking to a pair of Miqo'te women that had approached him. With a wry smile on his face, Takayoshi issued another sigh before shrugging his shoulders and looking toward the night sky as he said "You're just as bad, if not worse, than Thancred..."
---
Beyond the trees, hidden by the cover of night, a lone figure cloaked in a gray robe stood on a thick branch, looking out over the village known as Bentbranch Meadow. The figure was rather tall with the only defining feature being the two long, sharp ears that stuck out through the hood that they were wearing.
The figure donned a pair of metallic goggles and clicked a button on the side of the device and waited for its tell-tale whir to signal that it was activated. The figure waited with bated breath until, finally, the figure of a tall man with short black hair with red streaks, two pale curving horns, and a thin whip-like tail with barbed protrusions on its end walked into the light of the bonfire in the center of the village.
Upon looking at the figure, however, the hooded figure grimaced with confusion as he watched a sinister black aura spread from the man's body through the goggles. After waiting for a bit longer, a person that looked just like the man with the dark aura came into view, except this man's aura was one of pure Light.
"Thou hast eluded thee for too long. Thine intentions hath been made known, but thy true purpose hath yet to be revealed..." The man took the goggles off of his face and fastened them around his left bicep before disappearing with a flash of white light.
---
In the middle of telling one of his grand stories to several women gathered around him, Takahide's gaze was drawn toward a seemingly random place beyond the veil of darkness covering the forest, however, Takayoshi had the same feeling as his brother though they were quite some distance apart.
"Excuse me, I just remembered that I had something to do. I'll be right back, I promise!" Takahide jumped to his feet and made his way through the large gathering of people before spotting his brother and making his way over.
"You felt that as well?" Takayoshi asked as he saw his brother emerge from the crowd; a serious look plastered across his otherwise calm face. Takahide nodded his head and looked toward the direction where he last felt a sort of disturbance in the air.
"Yeah, we were being watched for a while, then the presence just disappeared..." Takayoshi held his chin in his palm as he began to think. 'I left the Scions to look for Hide...but I never really told them why. They must be worried, having their Warrior of Light disappear on them at such a crucial time...'
Takayoshi shook his head and thought, 'No, they can deal with matters themselves. I just need to find a way to get Hide away from that Dragon so we can meet up with the Sci-' Takayoshi was knocked from his thoughts as Takahide shook him roughly and whispered "The presence, it's back. Though this one feels...different."
Using the Light within him as a sort of focused radar, Takayoshi began to scour the area in which his brother gestured toward only to find a massive presence that was completely covered in Darkness. A cold sweat began to run down Takayoshi's forehead, but he managed to prevent himself from showing any kind of outward emotions, as to not give his idiotic brother any ideas.
"Seven hells, now that's a presence alright..." Takayoshi said dryly as he glanced toward Takahide, who was too busy staring off into the forest to notice. "It's gone," Takahide said. "We should be good for now, but don't let your guard down. I don't want something to happen while everyone is in such high spirits..."
Takayoshi laughed at his brother's remark before shaking his head and gesturing for Takahide to go back to his little entourage.
---
In the morning, Takahide and Takayoshi waved the Chieftain goodbye as they set out toward New Gridania. Though the unsettling presence that they felt last night was still fresh in their minds, they decided to enjoy the journey instead of fretting about what may or may not happen.
The trek was filled with mild banter, laughs, and the occasional monster wandering across the path, but it was rather enjoyable for both of the brothers. However, this momentary peace was soon interrupted by another piercing shriek followed by a bone-chilling aura.
Cursing their luck, the brothers dashed off of the path toward New Gridania with their weapons drawn. The screams sounded like they were getting farther and farther away with every step they took and, in a single moment, Takahide found that he was now alone; Takayoshi nowhere in sight.
"Taka!! Taka, where'd you go! Argh, godsdamnit!" Deciding that Takayoshi could handle himself, Takahide dashed off toward the direction of the screaming once more. After another painfully long minute of running, Takahide burst through the brush and found himself standing in front of a torn campsite; bodies strewn everywhere with their limbs hacked and mangled.
Another scream came from within a cave positioned in the side of a small mountain; its entrance covered by the remains of the campsite. Takahide clicked his tongue and dashed through the torn fabrics and into the damp, dark cave.
"Should've brought a torch..."