• Abyssians

A faint rustling of movement awoke Spheris.

At first he thought it was just one of the Royals waking up, but when he cracked open his eyes, slight panic flickered in his mind.

It was a man in brown tattered clothing, large slippers that seemed to be made of stone and a keffi hat. His movements were desperate, rifling through Nero's knapsack as if it were his own personal treasure trove.

Spheris carefully got to his feet without making any sound and conjured [Shaded Blasts], pointing it at the back of the oblivious thief.

"One shot of this and your face blows right off," he lied. The scavenger froze, realizing he's been caught. "Now slowly step away from the knapsack, turn around and reveal yourself."

The ransacker obeyed, and once he turned around revealing himself to Spheris as demanded, the boy frowned.

This man was just an ordinary person, he didn't look like a half-man, half-beast like he expected or some kind of manifestation of magic. It was just... a man.

"Hey, what's going on?" Cerene woke up.

This prompted the man to yell out, a reaction that certainly caught Spheris off guard. It was like he was calling to someone outside the cave.

And sure enough, he was. Before Spheris could react further, another figure rushed into the cave, then another, and before he knew it he was surrounded by a battery of men all in the same clothing as the scavenger.

"Wake up, guys!" Cerene cried.

"What is it? Holy Demons!" Nero vaulted up to his feet.

Thorin and Akemi got up as well, an alert look in both their faces.

"Cerene, who are these people?" Thorin asked.

"I don't know, Spheris was with one."

"I wasn't with one." Spheris stated. "I caught one. He was rummaging through Nero's bag."

Nero frowned. "Not cool... whichever one of you it was."

"Hulamda hunda! Hunda! Hunda!" the strange men all echoed.

With shared fear and surprise, the Avatars cast a gaze at each other.

"What in the Abyss was that?" Nero freaked.

"Hongala hunda! Hongala! Hunda! Hunda!" The singing sounds of blades tore into the air as the men withdrew knives out of their clothing.

"I don't think these are friendly people." Spheris muttered.

"No shit."

In unison, the Five Avatars conjured their Influences. Nero had materialized ice blades from both hands, Thorin's were brimming with fire balls, Cerene had conjured water from her flagon to form a whip, Akemi had red energy swelling in her hands and Spheris had reconjured [Shaded Blasts].

The air crackled with tense anticipation and the silence was broken only by the sound of their collective breaths and the sizzling of their various conjured Influences.

"Wait, wait, wait." Everyone's attention turned to the skinny man with a scruffy beard and bushy brows who had just entered the cave. Just like the scavengers, he was wearing the brown tattered clothes and a keffi hat. "There's no need to fight, we're all friends... Oh... wow."

The man noticed the abilities that they had conjured and then he gave each of them curious glances. "That is interesting."

"Who are you?" Thorin demanded.

"Oh yes! My apologies!" he smiled. "My name is Yograg, leader of the Abyssians."

"Leader of the Abyssians?" Cerene raised a brow.

"Yes." Yograg turned to her. "We are people who live in The Abyss. We call ourselves Abyssians."

"Dude, that's like the worst name ever." Nero interjected, causing Yograg to eye him disdainfully.

"What do you want with us?" Thorin continued to press.

"Nothing!" the man said, raising his hands in a sign of retreat. "We come in peace."

"So why are your men pointing knives at us?" It was Cerene's turn now.

"Forgive my brothers. It's their duty to hunt and provide for the people. They were just doing their jobs, they meant you no harm."

The Avatars shared glances once more, wondering amongst themselves whether or not to trust this Yograg.

"And how did you find us?" Thorin asked the question that Spheris was thinking.

"Oh, we saw something quite strange from afar. Rocks piled up in a straight line." Yograg placed both hands on his shoulders and let out a sigh of relief. "At first we thought it was nothing, I mean... The Abyss is a strange place. But we decided to check it out."

Spheris and Akemi exchanged a brief knowing glance, and then he looked at the rest of the Avatars. "Akemi and I couldn't sleep, so we trained."

Cerene looked at him suspiciously. "You two were together the whole night?"

With a faint furrow of his brow, Spheris replied. "Not the whole night."

"It seems you guys are what...? Adventurers?" Yograg interjected. "You're certainly not here by accident, seeing that you're very prepared. So which one are you? Adventurers who are here in search of excitement? Or Pirates in hunt of treasure."

Once again, they all searched for assurance in each other's faces, but it was Thorin who spoke up. "Adventurers. We've heard so much about the Abyss and we are finally of age to see it ourselves."

The grin on Yograg's face was half-mirthful and also half-mischievous. To Spheris, he was exactly the type of person he wouldn't trust: A leader of a group of people living far away from civilization, trying to survive under the harsh environments. And yet somehow still maintaining a positive attitude? Yeah right, this man spelt trouble.

Moreover, the biggest question was why didn't anyone tell him that people lived in The Abyss? Like actual living people, residing inside this dreadland? He felt like that was an important thing to bring up, wasn't it? Or didn't they know?

"Adventurers, huh?" Yograg spoke behind his smile. "But you're also those Bearer people, amirite?"

"Yeah," Thorin replied, seeing as there was no way to deny that. "We're called... Incarnates. We know this place is dangerous, so our powers are to defend ourselves."

"He-he!" Yograg screeched an ugly laughter.

"What?" Thorin demanded, feeling stupid.

"Trust me, Flaming Hands. There are many things here that your powers can not defend you from."

His statement was rewarded with a baleful silence as everyone tried to imagine what kind of 'things' he could be speaking of.

"So, how about I make you an offer, mhm? I let you join my people as we head back to our abode. I'll tell you whatever it is you want to know about this world, and you in return will share with us as much as you please from your supplies. Mhm? Whatcha say!"

Before anyone had the chance to speak, Thorin decisively refused the offer.

"Okay," Yograg shrugged. "As you wish. But don't you come looking for our help when the Neverending Calamities start."

Neverending Calamities? What was he talking about?

"Wait!" Cerene called just as the Abyssians were about to leave. "We accept."

"What?" Thorin glared at her, confused. "What are you doing?"

"Think about it, Thorin. We have no idea what awaits us in this place... anything could freaking happen. The ground could break open right now and unleash a Hellbender."

Spheris couldn't argue with that. He'd seen it happen.

"If these... Abyssians have lived here this long, then surely they'll have some tips on how to survive."

"Screw that, Cerene. I say we take them on!" Nero raved. "There's like what? Six of them? We can handle them!"

"I have almost a hundred men outside this cave."

"Oh." Nero deflated. "You know what? Cerene kinda has a point."

Cerene rolled her eyes in unison with Spheris, who almost facepalmed.

"Look, I'm not forcing anyone to come with me." Yograg affirmed. "I just see kids like you and it's pretty obvious that you don't know what you're doing. Leaving a pile of rocks, lighting a fire in the Darkest Night." He chuckled.

"I mean, it's almost like you want someone or something to find you. If you carry on like this, you five will be lucky to last a day. All I'm doing is offering help. Take it, or leave it."

The Avatars gazed amongst themselves once again, considering the offer, even though their decision seemed obvious. Spheris could tell that Thorin didn't like Cerene catching him off guard like that. Yet, her rationale resonated with everyone. Spheris for one, couldn't refute her logic. He remembered how difficult it was to escape just one Hellbender; surviving in a place with countless of them was not going to be easy.

"Alright then." Thorin said, when it was clear that everyone was in agreement. "We agree to your terms."

"Splendid!" Yograg nodded. "You can gather your forages and join us outside. We want to leave the mountains before it's hunting time for the Grimms."

The last few words were enough to get them packing quickly. Without saying anything to each other, they all gathered their supplies and followed Yograg and his hunters out of the cave.

Spheris didn't have anything to carry and so he was the first to come outside into the crimson light. Whatever it was he was expecting to see, the view before him surpassed that expectation.

In front of him stretched a motley procession of the Abyssians, and just like Yograg, they were clad in rugged, desert-toned garb, and wore the identical keffi hats to shield them from the Abyss's harsh elements.

They were gathered in a line with what seemed like their mode of transport: a makeshift wooden convoy, reminiscent of the caravans Spheris usually saw in the towns that carried large numbers of people to set locations.

In front of the convoy were two massive creatures with strong ropes tied and buckled to their neck and body. They were towering creatures, with sturdy barrel-shaped bodies and large firm legs. They had a fairly long neck, giant ears and an even longer nose. Above their noses were tiny, hollow expressive eyes and below, a pair of distinctive, downturned lips.

What the hell kind of creature was that!?

"It's a mammelion, if that's what you're thinking." Yograg gave Spheris a warm tap on the back, causing Talon to fly off his shoulder. "Oh, sorry birdie."

Not saying anything, Spheris watched as the man approached the Abyssians, who were busy with their own conversations, carrying their own assortments of brown bags and forage.

"My brothers and sisters!" Yograg called for their attention, arms in embrace. "Please welcome our adventuring friends who are in need of help."

They were all silent, gazing at the Avatars with emotionless eyes.

'Not exactly welcoming, but okay.' Spheris thought.

"My friends," Yograg returned to them. "This is my assistant, Vurunt and this is my niece, Linne."

For a second, Spheris couldn't tell which was Vurunt, and which was Linne, seeing that both their faces were covered. But then they two got down from the convoy and motioned Spheris and the rest on how to climb in.

Vurunt was the slightly taller one with grubby long hair, and Linne was the smaller one with short chestnut hair.

"Alright now, get in!" Yograg said to the Avatars as he climbed into the captain seat of the convoy. "Just a few hours until Grimms show up from the mountains."

Taking a brief glance at Cerene who was beside him, Spheris approached the convoy, placed his legs on the wooden stick between the two wheels made of lumber, and got into the caravan.