The Pass

Stannir stood at the entrance to the pass and looked up the cliffs smiling. "Salina… We were up those cliffs fighting back the bandits… But what I remember here the most was when we were flying…" He smiled. "The view was amazing..."

"That's all you remember?" He looked at Salina in her fire red silks and sighed shaking his head. "No… I also remember another thing, but I'll keep that to myself for the moment…"

"Fine… I think all those muscles have gone to your head. If it wasn't for me, you would've just jumped off the cliff and hope for some miracle or something?"

He smiled at her and looked at the pass. "What's at the end of the pass? I've never been outside the north."

"Does it matter what's out there, all that matters is that we find people and get to the capital before the ritual begins…"

"Yes, you're right as always Salina…" He looked up at the sky and frowned. "Looks like a storm is coming. We should take some cover and continue on in the morning."

He looked around at the pass and smiled. "If I remember, there are many caves along the pass. Let's find one of them and settle in."

"That's fine for me… Stannir. Let's spend some time around a fire… Pity my body has not fully formed yet…" Stannir felt his face start to turn red and he coughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hmmph. Being in this form is not how I plan to stay. Hurry up and find us a cave for the night."

Stannir nodded his head and looked around before pointing at the pass wall. "There's one. We'll set up in there." He walked towards the pass wall and into the cave. He checked around before letting out a long breath. "Just us in here. I'll get a fire going, and we can eat."

As he set up the fire using a small fireball to lite it, he turned and looked at Salina with a smile. "I'm curious about something. If your body was physical, what would be the first thing you would do?"

"Hmmm." He looked at her smile. "Well… The first thing probably would be is to have a shower, and then… I would spend some intimate time with my general… Then we would eat a lot and see all of Athlos… With you of course."

Stannir smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. There isn't a place I would want to be without you being close to me."

He put his pack down and pulled out some dried meat and started to heat it by the fire. He looked around the cave watching the light dance off the walls.

"Hello… May we enter? There's a storm out here about to break. We're willing to share our food with you."

Stannir looked up and walked to the cave entrance. "Who's crazy enough to be out here in the pass?"

"He looked at them and the armor they were wearing and his gaze stopped at the fiery red gems glowing in their armor. "What armor is that? I've never seen something like that before?"

"We got this from the Ancient Tower. There's an amazing blacksmith that made this armor for us… So will you let us warm by your fire?"

"Sure… If you're from the south, then you're welcome in. Do you have any news from the south?"

He followed them into the cave and watched as they put their packs down and sat near the fire warming their hands. "Sorry, we've been in the swamps for some time, and we haven't had a chance to hear a lot since being in there."

Stannir nodded and frowned while leaning against the cave wall. "Well any news you have would be good to hear. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"He looks strong… Are you a Firewarrior by any chance?"

Stannir nodded. "Yes, and I'm heading south to look for some people to join up with."

"Then join us… We found a map to some ruins out here, and we're planning to go explore them. If you're interested and have time to spare you can travel with us? You'd get a share of the cut… Especially since you know these lands well. So, what do you say?"

Stannir looked at the small party and shook his head. "Sorry. I'm not really the treasure hunting type of person, and I've done all the ruin delving that will last for an entire lifetime. It seems your armor will keep you safe from the snow and the ice, so you'll be fine. If not send a message through to the FireStrike unit. They'll send some people out if you get stuck."

"Thanks for the advice… What are you doing out here on your own?"

"Me… I'm heading south. Which is why I asked if you had any news."

"Ahh. Just be careful in the swamps, it isn't the safest place around… Especially for Firewarriors."

Stannir looked at the treasure hunter who spoke. "What do you mean not safe for Firewarriors?"

"There are pockets of flammable air in the swamp. If you walk into one of them, you'll turn the entire place into a giant fireball, including yourself."

Stannir looked at the cave entrance in thought. "Thanks for the information. I'll keep that in mind when I go through there… By any chance are there any maps to get through the swamps safely?"

"Follow the ruins… There the ground is firm. If you start heading in too much water, you'll hit a pocket of flammable air."

"Thanks for the advice…" He stood in silence and looked at Salina. "Will we have trouble if we walk into one of those pockets that they mentioned?"

"We should be able to sense them, since he said they're flammable which means they're giving off some sort of energy… If we keep an eye out for that we should be fine. Also… Let's just do what they suggested and stick to the ruins."

He nodded and smiled at Salina. "So be it… We'll be strangers, let's keep a low profile."

"Hey Firewarrior… The food is ready… Come sit and join us, we also have some wine that'll put hair on anyone's chest."

Stannir nodded and sat down at the fire taking a bite from the meat that was given to him and took a drink from the wine pouch. He looked at it and smiled. "This is firewine… Where did you get it from?"

"Hahaha. He knows his wine… This one cost us quite a few coins, as it comes from the north… The trader said it would keep us warm up here, so we bought a lot of it."

"Yes… This wine is used in the north to keep the body warm… It's very useful up here. Not sure if you need to stay warm in the south?"

"No, not at all. As you get further south the hotter it gets, especially further south. That's where the desert and the firelands are."

"Desert? Hmm." He took a bit looking at Salina sitting near him. "Do you think we'll find anything in the desert?"

"I don't remember anything about a desert… Things have changed a lot since…"

"What do you remember about the south?"

"Not much. There was a war that I was a part of, but apart from that I can't remember anything else."

He looked at her mischievous smile. "Are you worried that when I gain my memories that I'll leave you?"

Stannir shook his head. "Not at all…" He touched his heart and felt it skip a beat. "Well… I hope you won't. From the moment we met I knew that I needed you in my life."

"Ohhhh a mighty Firewarrior is trying to woo a fire spark like me… Hahaha. Don't worry, I won't be going anywhere."

"Cough… Cough… Ahh Firewarrior… Are you alright?

Stannir shook his head and looked at the treasure hunters. "Sorry, I was thinking about a few things."

"Ahhh. Sorry to interrupt your thoughts. What is your name Firewarrior?"

"Stannir is my name. I'm from the FireStrike unit not far from here."

"Stannir… That's an interesting name. Anyway, we were asking you about the first watch. We can take the first watch if you want to have a rest since you're on your own.?"

Stannir shook his head. "No need. I can take the first shift. If you're going to rest, you'll be safe here in the pass, since the bandits have all been removed."

"Bandits?"

Stannir nodded. "Yes, there were bandits all through the pass, but my unit went through and got rid of them a while ago."

"That's incredible… That's why the Firewarrior's are known as the best fighters in all of Athlos."

"The Firewarrior's are the ones who protect the Supreme… They need to be strong or have you forgot about that?"

"Yeah… But I never thought they were that strong."

Stannir looked at them and shook his head. "They were only bandits… They weren't elite forces like in the island chains."

"Still I can see you're strong. I'm going to sleep, since you want to do the first shift."

Stannir walked towards the cave entrance and sat watching the snowstorm winds blow past him along the pass. "Salina… They talk too much. I hope they'll be fine in the ruins."

"I'm sure they have some skill. If their armor can deal with the cold, and they're out here on their own. I think they'll be fine."

"You have a lot of confidence in them. They seem like children to me…"

"That's because you're comparing them to the old monster and the Firewarrior. They have a desire and will to survive. They might get injured and hurt, but they'll survive."

"Maybe you're a better judge of character than I am."

He sighed and looked up at the cliff face across from him. "Now that I think about it. I can't believe I climbed that… Also jumped off it with wings for the first time."

"Yes, that was very risky, but you showed everyone you had the strength and ability to do it. We'll be going through swamps and crossing all of Athlos. Your name will be well known by the time you begin the ritual."

"Thanks for your confidence in me. We'll be in foreign lands… To be honest I'm nervous about it and worry I won't be able to find the people for the ritual."

"Slap!"

Stannir felt his reddened cheek with his hand and looked at Salina. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot… You may be strong, but you're the biggest idiot I've ever met… Hmmmph."

Stannir sighed and looked at the front of the cave. "It's just I've never been south. I've got no idea what to expect, and I don't have any coin in my pocket as I've never needed it."

"We'll work it all out… I just told you that I'm a good judge of character… You need to believe in yourself idiot. If you can climb that stupid cliff, then you can get through anything… Geeze. If the old monster was here, he would have told you to go back and peel your skin taking the tattoo away from you idiot."

He looked at the angry Salina and frowned. "Sorry… You're right. I need to show that monster that I'm not useless or weak…"

"Not just that. Think about your unit you were leading… They followed you because you showed your strength." He looked at Salina and smiled slightly. "You're right about that. If I wasn't strong, then they wouldn't have been following me around in the unit. Even in the stone baths…"

"Cough… Cough… The ones waiting in the stone baths were not waiting because your strong… They were waiting because of another thing." He looked at her confused. "What do you mean? What where they waiting for?"

He saw Salina's face start to turn red as she looked away from him. "You really are an idiot…"

He heard her sigh. "It doesn't matter if you don't want to say… All that matters is that we're heading south."

"Ahem… Yes. Forget about those things… Let's focus on finding the right people and the ritual."