The Abyss Ember

After completing most of the game stalls, the group decides to take a break and head to the middle of the festival where a large platform is being set up. Walking around, Sydra had also been searching for Captain Smith, but he had been unable to find him yet.

'I wonder where he went,' Sydra thinks as he notices a group of people in white coats are wheeling a large box covered in a white sheet towards the stage. As the box was wheeled onto the stage, the boards beneath it began to creak.

"Whatever is inside that thing must be incredibly heavy," Erich says as he watches several of the people struggling to push it across the stage.

"Indeed, but it should be, as that is the reward for you guys," Captain Smith says as he approaches the group with his sister. "Sorry for running off on you earlier, Sydra, but we noticed that you seemed to be preoccupied with your business,"

"I should be the one apologizing, as I said I would be right back," Sydra says, before introducing the group to Naimo. Once the introductions were out of the way, Sydra turns back to Captain Smith. "So what is inside the box?" Sydra asks as his curiosity has been peaked.

"You'll find out as soon as it is revealed to everyone else, but I am almost positive you will like it," Captain Smith says as he walks over to the stage and hops up onto it. "Please forgive me, but I must finish the preparations for the grand reveal that will be happening in twenty-seven minutes,"

"Of course, we'll just be waiting over there," Sydra says as he points over toward a building that resembles a crow's best, except on a much larger scale. After climbing up the stairs, the group walks out onto a circular platform that looks out over the island.

"This island truly is amazing. I like the way they have set up the lamps, you should do something like this on your island," Marie says as she turns to look at Sydra.

"She is right, if you were to build a town on your island, I'm sure a lot of people would want to live there. You could probably set up a stable spatial rift between the island and different towns if you wanted to," Robert says as he pulls a bag of jerky out of his pocket.

"A stable spatial rift? What is that?" Sydra asks as he rests his back against the railing, and looks at the group.

Looking proud to know about this, Erich puts down his food and answers. "I heard that the elves and the dwarves worked together to build a runic platform that can open a spatial rift that leads to where you want to go. The destination all depends on the coordinates you input, and there has to be a receiving platform there as well," Erich says.

"Interesting, but I'm sure they are quite costly, so maybe in the future once I have amassed more wealth," Sydra says as he ponders the possibilities of a stable spatial rift.

"It looks like people are starting to make their way over now," Cidre says as he peers over the railing and looks at the ground below. Glancing down, the group notices that Captain Smith is waving towards them. "I think Sydra should be the only one to go up on stage when they give the reward, as it was his idea to use the meteorites,"

"That makes sense, in that case, we'll just stay up here," Robert says as he pats Sydra on the shoulder. "Good luck,"

"Haha, I'm just receiving a reward, what need do I have for luck?" Sydra asks as he heads towards the stairs. Turning around to wave at the group, Sydra slips on the top stair and tumbles down to the ground. 'Maybe I do need luck,' Sydra thinks as he quickly hops up and looks around. Luckily most people had yet to show up, and only a few saw him fall.

"Oof, that looked like it hurt," says someone with a soft female voice. Turning around, Sydra sees Peggy standing there in a green dress.

"You saw that, huh? Don't worry, I'm all good," Sydra says as he pats the dirt off his shirt. "So you decided to come to watch the ceremony then?" Sydra asks as he walks with Peggy towards the stage.

"Yeah, I wanted to see who the visitor was that made it so we could leave our homes at night," Peggy says as she tucks a strand of her brown hair behind her ear, and looks around. "Do you happen to know who it was?" She asks, but before Sydra can answer Captain Smith calls out to him.

"Sydra, come up here and let my sister do your hair real quick. You want to look presentable when they give you your reward, don't you?" Captain Smith says as he points to a chair the Naimo is standing next to.

"Oh, I guess I have my answer. Our island's hero is the guy I found sleeping in my tree," Peggy says as she giggles. "I guess that means I'll have to sit by myself while you're getting your reward," she says as she sits down on a chair that is close to the stage.

"Sorry about that, but what's a hero to do," Sydra says as he walks up tot the stage and sits down on the chair, allowing Naimo to start brushing his hair.

"I see you're acquainted with our islands best hostess," Naimo says as she gives Sydra a wink. "I heard that her wooden legs really makes the bed rock,"

"I haven't taken the opportunity to find out for myself, but she seems like a nice woman," Sydra says as he looks back at Peggy, who waves cutely at him. 'I guess working at a brothel is considered okay on this island, but if you think about it professionally, it is okay,' Sydra thinks as he remembers how back on earth people would shame someone for that kind of thing.

"I see. Your hair is done by the way, and I must say that this white color is very suitable for you," Naimo says as Sydra gets up out of the chair and looks into the mirror Naimo hands him.

"Thanks, you did a good job," Sydra says. Turning around, Sydra walks over to Captain Smith who is looking out at the audience that has gathered. "Is it about time?"

"Yeah, just three more minutes. The plan is to give a speech about some new laws that are being created to keep order at night, and then explain how you were the one to help us out. After that, I'll reveal the reward, and you'll say a few words," Captain Smith says as a podium is brought up onto the stage.

Steeping behind the podium, Captain Smith raises his hand and the crowd goes quiet in anticipation. "Since everyone is here now, we can begin with the ceremony. First is like to tell you about a few rules that will be set in place to allow people to be out at night," Captain Smith says as he pulls a parchment out from his pocket.

The rules he told people were pretty simple and quite similar to the rules of the day. A few differences were the fact that people should still be wary of dark alleys, and if they see someone acting suspiciously to let the authorities know.

"And now to reveal the person who made all this possible. His name is Sydra, and he will be rewarded with an Abyss Ember," Captain Smith says as people unveil a large glass box that has a large green rock covered in glowing blue cracks.

'Woah, an Abyss Ember? And one that is so large as well. If I have that melted down, and turned into a cannon, I wouldn't have to worry about running out of ammo,' Sydra thinks as he stares at the Abyss Ember. 'I could also have some of it made into daggers,'

"For those of you who are unaware, an Abyss Ember is a rare material that has been brought back from a land that is beyond the edge. One of our ancestors brought it back from his travels, and he was the one who told us to use it as a reward for the one who solved our curse. The Abyss Ember has special properties that allow the things created from it to generate power," Captain Smith says as he walks over to Sydra and hands him a medal in the shape of a ship.

"What's this?" Sydra asks as he looks at the medal, with everyone in crowd trying to get as better look at it as well.

"This is the second part of the reward, which is an unlimited amount of currency while you are on the island. Everything you buy with this will be paid for by the island's government, but there is a limit to how much you can spend a year," Captain Smith explains as Sydra looks down at the medal.

'Hmm, that will be useful while we are working on getting supplies,' Sydra thinks as he steps up to the podium. "Thank you all for the rewards, I am just happy to have been able to help you out," Sydra says as the crowd applauds loudly.