Snarveer Village

"His best friend, you say?" Kali asked with a slightly shocked expression on her face.

 "Yeah, Nio would often visit our house and hang out with my dad. He also worked with my dad and gifted him this awesome piece of equipment he made. I'll tell you all about some more another time!" Wyzsta said with a delighted smile. 

After Wyzsta explained to Kali the connection between the esteemed scientist and his father, it signaled to her that she should explain a little bit about herself. 

"Oh wow, you guys were close if you got to call him Nio! He yelled at me when I did hehe, but I worked alongside him, and he taught me the basics of how the Central Hold operates and how he runs the place. He took me under his wing and also coached me with controlling my fire abilities-" 

Kali elaborated more, "I have always been a girl fascinated by the magic here, and my parents quickly figured this out. We live in a settlement towards the middle of Ranca, and I never really cared for the Central Hold laboratory. My focus was just on helping my parents and controlling my fire abilities. My mother never really approved of me playing with magic, especially not fire. On the one hand, my dad thought I could use it for good, so he convinced my mom to send me off to the Central Hold. Then, from there, Dr.Censia helped me understand the capacity of my magic, and later down the line, he sent me off with other expedition groups, and I helped people across several territories." 

After this long exploration of her backstory, Wyzsta continued to walk alongside her in silence and write down key points. He smiled and thought It was nice to hear somebody speak so openly and freely about their childhood and life. He felt safe and honored that she would even share this stuff with him. 

He spoke out and said, "I appreciate you talking about this, it's nice to know you're passionate about helping others just like me." He adjusted his hood and continued to walk with her as she hummed softly.

Kail always had a nervous tick, which she communicated by humming. She would do this if she were on edge or in unknown territory. Her humming became louder and louder by the second. This hum nearly transformed into a rumble almost lower and deeper in pitch. Wyzsta caught onto this quickly and was perplexed for a second. 

"Wait, stop humming for a sec-" He said as they both stopped moving. 

Even though she had stopped humming, the low rumbling continued. It was coming from their right side, almost like it was humming from the mountain range. "ZZZTZ…This Is Belio Weather Station and we are…ZZZTZ….reporting a….avalanche warning hitting the southwestern…ZZZTZ…border as we…ZZZTZ…speak….take cover immediately!" Voiced Kali's radio on her hip.

They both looked at each other in disbelief and froze in fear. Kali looked up towards the rumbling sound and faintly saw it approaching them. 

"Let's try to find a cave quick!" Wyzsta suggested as he looked around. 

They both started to run parallel with the mountain range in search of a cavern or cave entrance. The avalanche could strike down at their location any minute now, and the fact that they could hear the rumbling already wasn't a good sign. 

"Over here! Over Here! Hurry and hop on! She shouted as Wyzsta held onto her bag. 

She coated her hands in a burning flame and caressed the bottom of her boots. As she ran, she picked up an even faster speed, almost like she was gliding along the ground. Her feet grew hotter with each stride, and the lava she created under her scorched the ground. The friction she made along the ground melted the snow instantly, allowing it to glide faster. Wyzsta, barely holding onto her bag, was sliding into the ground behind her, avoiding the splotches of lava left behind. They both slid into the cave entrance, barely making it within before a mountain of snow covered the very entrance they had just gone through.

She dug her heels down into the granite beneath their feet to slow them down from the perpetual glide. She left molten trails along the granite floor, showing where they slid in. Once they got to a halt, they looked behind themselves to see the incredible amount of snow that had collapsed into the entrance, blocking it off completely. 

"That was the planet throwing us off course…" Wyzsta said jokingly.

She followed up: "The weather has been more dangerous and extreme as of late so I wouldn't put it past Ontrovius."

Kail began to sit down and cool off her steaming boots with the residual cave water that had lingered there before they stormed in. The water barely made any progress since the only way to cool off her cinder glide was to use concentrated seawater. She ran back to Mazura while arriving at the battle, and now she had to sit and wait for it to cool. After Kali set up the campfire, she started to roast the little snacks she had brought along. 

"Luckily, I brought dehydrated Zuneen bites!" 

Wyzsta looked confused and asked, "What's Zuneen?" 

Kali looked at him and said, "Ah, that's right! Zuneen is a native mammal to Ranca. It's a small mammal that the people breed there, and it's pretty yummy! Give it a try!" 

Wyzsta took one of the sticks and roasted a few over the fire before eating it. "Okay, you weren't lying; they were pretty good!" he said while adding more to his stick. 

"I know, right?" She said back. After Wyzsta was Finished, he thanked Kali and sat back against a rock to rest for a bit. 

For a brief moment, he saw something in the distance within the cave. Wyzsta took notice of two white eyes that appeared to be staring back at him from beyond the cave's dark eyes were about a hundred feet behind Kali, and he didn't want to freak her out while she was eating still. He pulled out two daggers from the right pouch on his belt and threw them simultaneously in the eyes' direction aligning them so they would intercept each other and create a bright enough spark to see whatever creature lay in the dark.

Stillre of what he was doing, Kali aKali assumed that he was simply messing around and throwing them to pass the time. Right after the daggers created a spark, he saw the slightest apparition of what seemed to be a Batwalker. 

"That's right…dad….I remember…brightness and swiftness…got it!" 

Wyzsta thought back to the conversation he had with his dad years ago when he first encountered a bad walker Batwalkers are extremely similar to bats on Earth, except they are almost human-sized. Bat walkers can only glide, and because of this deformity, they also lack sonar capabilities and are partially blind. With his prior knowledge, he used the daggers to distract and disorientate the creature. 

Wyztsa then swiftly ran towards the batwalker to land one swift blow, but he got flung into the cave wall by another batwalker. The second one was perched on the ceiling, waiting for Wyzsta's move. When he threw out his daggers at the first one, the second batwalker covered its senses with its thick wings and protected itself so it could launch a counterattack. With a window of opportunity, it glided off the ceiling towards Wyzsta. Zzoossh…the smell of ash filled the air, and a bright orange hew illuminated the cave. This phenomenon followed with the once confident batwalker laid out on the ground face down with a gaping hole through its chest. 

Kali used the remaining residual lava on her boats to create a magma ball. She formed it from debris from igneous rocks under her feet using cinder glide. This created a thick igneous rock layer that begins to form as it cools off. With her boots only halfway cooled off, this created a perfect mixture of lava and igneous rocks. So, in turn, the magma ball could pierce through the thick layers of the batwalker. 

"Your sword won't work on these guys! Their skin is too thick for slash or puncture attacks!" She called out to Wyzsta. 

He started to collect himself and muster the strength to stand up after that powerful blow he took.

"Kali just used the last of her residual flames….and my sword won't hurt these guys…think..think.." 

Before he could devise a plan, the first batwalker glided towards him instantly after it regained its senses. Wyzsta blocked its claw attack and then jumped over its wing sweep as Kali was charging up another normal fireball attack. The batwalker continued to chase Wyzsta along the cave wall, and it succeeded in closing the gap between them. Wyzsta hurdled boulders that littered along the cave wall. 

"WATCH OUT!" Kali's yell got the attention of the batwalker and Wyzsta. 

As the batwalker turned its back, Wyzsta grabbed its wings and held it in place. The creature began to struggle and almost broke free from Wyzsta's grasp. It started overpowering him and tried to shake its way free, but Wyzsta had other plans. He took more Crysaline string from his pouch and wrapped its arms up to stop resistance. Without anywhere to go, the batwalker's body got hit directly by Kali's fireball and instantly turned to dust. Wyzsta let go of its wings as they started to disintegrate into ash. Now of breath, the two of them the two of them it up against the cave wall together. 

As they try to relax, Wyztsa feels a weird sensation in his blind eye; it almost feels like the static of the vernos back in Mazura. It sends shivers through his whole body, and he tries to ignore it by adjusting his eye bandages. 

"Maybe it's my exhaustion from this long day…I only got a little rest after all these battles today…"

Kali collects broken branches pushed into the cave by the avalanche and starts a small fire to keep them warm. They for a few hours while uncomfortably laying against the cold cave walls. The crackling of the fire slowly fades away as they drift off to sleep. 

"Hey. Hey…you awake?" He grumbles his words but puts a thumb up slowly to give confirmation. 

"Wake up…we need to prepare… things are trying to claw their way into the cave from where the snow piled in…" Kali whispered with utter fear.

Wyzsta hurried awake, trembling, trying to gather himself. The fact that even more enemies were approaching their location meant that they caused a scene. 

"Surely cave-dwelling batwalkers don't travel outside, right?" He asked nervously as he stood.

 "I have no clue…but I'm glad I heard it in time. I thought it was a dream I was having, but no, it's some scraping at the entrance…" Kali replied while focusing her mind-state to gather more fire energy.

The sound coming from the cave entrance sounded almost like shoveling. As the two travelers prepared, Kali dispersed what was left of the campfire and collected the flame back into her hands. Wyzsta quickly collected all of their belongings and walked over to her. They started walking closer toward the snow mountain that collapsed within the cave. Wyzsta, holding onto his sheath, waited vigilantly to see what could try to enter. 

Shhhht…Hooosh….Shhhht….Hoosh…

The snow started falling inwards, and the outside world peered into the cave at the top. Wyzsta and Kali both stayed quiet and waited for their opportunity to strike once it entered. Wyzsta's eye darted to the slightest movements entering the cave and, without hesitation, struck at that point. The only noise that followed was the sound of wood snapping and a voice calling out, 

"Hey, watch it! I just spent a good dollar on that shovel!" 

A person's face appeared as a small crevice of snow opened up. It appeared to be a local villager.

"Oh my- I'm so sorry we thought you were a Batwalker since we just fought-" Wyzsta tried to explain himself, but the village said, 

"Oh, no problem in the world, partner! Let's get ye out of here before anything else helps ya, dimwit!" 

The villagers helped them out of the snowy cave they just spent the night in. "I was going along the…um…what remains of a path ya could say…and I was checking all of yer local caves. I know quite a few rugrat youngins that like to play in em!" 

The villagers then explained that they were not too far away from Snarveer Village. For the time being, he became their very own tour guide of the snowy wonderland. 

"Thank you so much for helping us…we struggled through the night in there and were about to find a way out." Kali thanked the man. 

The village smiled and responded, "Well, of course! Like my old uncle, Snoot Snoot said…"Don't dig your snoot looking for loot unless you're ready to shoot!"….oh wise old uncle…" 

Wyzsta and Kali looked at each other and couldn't get enough of the villager's accent. "So hey, you never said what your name was?" Wyzsta mentioned.

"It's Sk'noru!" 

Kali smiled at the sweet man, and Wyzsta tried sketching him as they followed. They finally reached the town of Snarveer, and it's bolstering with life from the looks of it. The people within the town are helping one another clean up the mess of the avalanche. Luckily, the avalanche caused no major damage, and it barely missed the village. All of the houses and shops here were made out of a very dark sort of wood. It had a medieval atmosphere due to the streets having vendors along every street corner. Blacksmiths, leather shop workers, clothiers, and pubs riddle the streets of this town. It wasn't the biggest village, but it certainly had a tight-knit community by the looks of it. Sk'noru began to show them around the different shops, 

"Here we have my favorite shop in town, Rondaru's Rocks! They sell all sorts of rocks and crystals that they have collected all around Belio!" Wyztsa and Kali looked at a sign that read: "3,294,675 different Stones collected!".

Sk'noru Then brought them to the nearest pub to regain some warmth. As they walked in, they saw the place was packed with townsfolk. The atmosphere within the pub was like nothing either of them had seen. Even with the hundreds of alcohol glasses that were being served, it seemed that nobody even appeared drunk. They sat down at a wooden round table that was right next to a fireplace. 

"So what's with the drunk people…not being drunk?" Wyztsa questioned. 

"Ahhh, yes, the Snarveer blessing is what they call it, lad! It was said that when the creation of the place was being laid down, some goofs spilled five whole kegs of Ressenbrew into the local water well. Who knows if ye Swanks was joking around or not, either way, the town's water supply supposedly was affected by this. So now anyone in the town has built up a tolerance towards the alcohol." 

Kali shook her head, thinking about how dumb those kids were, but accepted it was accidental. On the other hand, Wyzsta was listening with full attention, writing more. 

Sk'noru continued, "Today, not only does our pub bring in people across the land, but the rest of our other services do as well! We excel at stonemasonry and lumbering as well. I work in the lumbering faction myself-" 

Wyzsta interposed, "Ahh…and sorry about your shovel earlier!"

Sk'noru waved his hand, almost deescalating it with a simple gesture. This was his way of saying that it wasn't a big deal and that he didn't show any ill will towards him. After the quick history lesson, their journey continued through the town. The town's design was oval-like, featuring streets that branched across it. It seemed to be around the same stage of construction as Tabatha. 

As they came to the end of the northeastern part of the town, Sk'noru solicited, "So what brought ye this way anyway? Cause I can tell yer never been here, haha!" 

Kali let Wyzsta answer for both of them: "Well, we are on a Mission to find a man who goes by the name Erra. He's my grandfather. Our directions kind of got jumbled up during that avalanche." 

Sk'noru gasped for a second and then tugged at Wyzsta's cloak, pleading, "Please tell me it's the truth, lad! Yer speaking the truth?" 

Wyzsta, surprised, gives him a quick nod and listens to him continue, "I have met him several times…he has spoken of you, lad. I met him the most at Rondaru's Rocks since he always seemed fascinated by different types of crystals. He would mention a grandson of his that he wished to meet again one day!" 

"Do you know where he may be? Does he still visit?" Wyzsta asked.

Sk'noru scratched his beard and tried to remember the last time he saw him. The small villager went blank for a few seconds and then followed up with, 

"Come to think of it… I haven't seen him in a while, lad. He must be at his lodge." Wyzsta nodded and wrote down the lodge he mentioned. 

"Dad did mention a lake…and a mountain cave…we can't be far at all…it's just been so long I barely remember…" Wyzsta thought. 

Wyzsta shook Sk'noru's hand after all the help he provided to them. Kali then gifted Sk'noru a Wisp in a bottle she created out of the flame. The flame danced around within the bottle and seemed to like Sk'noru. The wisp was meant to help keep him warm while traveling on any wood-chopping expeditions. Sk'noru was extremely grateful and gave them a group hug. Wyzsta and Kali now headed off on their way outside the village walls. Although it was a short visit, it was a very warm welcome. After making their new friend Sk'noru, they both felt safer knowing support within the snowy region.

 "If we head towards the left side of the lake and wrap around, we should make it there around midday!" Kali said excitedly to Wyzsta. 

He then looked up ahead in the mountain valley, seeing the snow starting to clear not too far ahead. The avalanche altered their path, so Kali took it upon herself to melt the snow with her hand doused in flame. As she cleared a path along the way of where the trail once was, Wyzsta skimmed his glove along the snow. The last time he played with snow was when his father took him to see Pop Pop Erra all those years ago. The chilliness of the air and freshness of the snow calmed Wyzsta. He then smacked his hands together to knock off the rest of the snow and continued walking. Kali loved to slice through the snow; she found it satisfying that it melted so easily. She began her hum again, but this time not from nervousness, it was out of relaxation. He brought out his notepad again to observe the mysterious stone he saw at the beginning of this valley. Two trapezoid-like stones stacked on each other, with the shorter side meeting in the middle. It was separated in the middle by rocks and wooden beams. Inscribed in the front were symbols he'd never seen before, and they appeared to be ancient. Behind the artifact were two long wooden poles that seemed to be perching each rock up into place. 

He slipped the notebook back into his pouch and continued to follow Kali. They finally made it out of the valley, but the once open land that would've shown them snow gusts hid the lake and the surrounding area. A blizzard must've been entrapped within the valley after the avalanche had fallen. The blizzard got pushed out of the valley and into the clearing. Without a clear view of where the lake would be, they decided to take the trail that bent off to the left. Pattering hit the ground around them, and sounds of movement. Their eyes darted around to see what it must've been, and Wyzsta checked behind them. Dosh….It was the sound of snow being thrown in front of them and small giggles following right after.

The snow thrown came from above and fell in front of Kali's feet. She then looked up into the snowy canopy, not seeing a thing. The sounds of small giggles flooded the air around them. Wyzsta held his sheath but did not intend to strike; he felt these creatures weren't a threat. He signaled Kali not to start hand signs for flames, and she understood. Another snowball was thrown, and it hit Wyzsta in the shoulder. He adjusted his hood and turned to his right side, and another big pile of snow arrived at his face, smacking him entirely. The snowy forest erupted with laughter as Wyzsta wiped it off his face. 

Hehehehe….Hahahaha….heh…These playful giggles circled above their heads.

As Wyzsta shook his hood to get any snow out, he said, "Whoever you guys are, just come out! Enough of these games!" 

The sound of sliding comes from a tree nearby, and the sound of something landing on the ground. Kali looks over but can't make out anybody, Wyzsta then walks towards the sound. 

"Hello…?" He says into the blizzardy void. 

After he asked, a small little creature popped up out of a pile of snow and startled Wyzsta. The animal appeared friendly and looked like a goblin of sorts. Their body was grey and had coats with fur. The little creature had pointy ears and a thick wool robe. It dug out the snow and poked its head up to look at the two.

 "Sorry for the snowball attack, hehehe….we just don't get visitors a lot hehehe, but maybe that's why hmph-" The docile creature said to the two of them. 

"YOU CAN TALK?" Wyzsta and Kali Said in Unison were shocked.

"Why, of course! Not all of us can, but language within our tiny community! Within our tiny community," The little fellow said with a happy grin. 

Wyzsta, kneeling to his height, asks, "So what's your name? Or your people's name?" 

The snow creature shook his head to free it of any snow build-up, "My name is Gamo, but the name of our people is Leaftins. We don't only live in Belio, ya'know, hehe!" 

Wyzsta then recognized the species' name and quickly questioned Gamo: "Wait, then I know of your kind! My Grandfather used to say he spoke to you, but my family thought he was crazy. Do you know an elderly man by the name of Erra, by chance?"

Gamo grabbed a stick and used it to pull himself up out of the snow. He then patted himself down and answered Wyzsta, "My oh my…so many questions, fellow! But wow….you're Master Erra's grandchild! He's the one who taught us linguistics and the ability to speak! He took great care of our people and constantly checked up on us!" 

Kali looked down at Gamo and couldn't believe it. Wyzsta did the same but quickly followed up with, "That's incredible…all these years, I thought he was just crazy, but he was speaking to you guys. I'm blown away...we are heading to see him now. We just got sidetracked by this blizzard, and it's a bit difficult to find our way." 

Gamo looked delighted that Wyzsta had found peace, knowing that their master wasn't crazy. He then started to walk down a path and tapped his stick against a tree three times. This signaled to the other Leaftin that everything was all right and that they could continue to do whatever they wanted. 

"Follow me, us Leaftin know Belio forests like none other, but first, we must take a short detour!" 

Wyzsta and Kali hurried along, following behind Gamo. The paths were still covered by snow, but Gamo knew his way around so well that they started to lose him. They started to run to catch up, and then they both stopped to see that Gamo was on a ledge. 

"Right down here….We call it Ra'een!"

The two of them peered over the small cliff and saw a colony of small houses covered in snow. The place was their central village in Belio, which housed over four thousand Leaftins. As they took in the view, Gamo continued by saying, 

"This is our main home, but plenty of other villages around Belio and the other territories exist. If you ever encounter more, just mention my name, and they will know you're safe." 

Wyzsta gave Gamo a little bow to show gratitude. Kali said, "Thank you so much; we appreciate it greatly!" 

Gamo gave them a small chuckle and explained their history a bit, "Master Erra found us many years ago when we roamed around the snowy forests of Belio. He nurtured us and helped us grow out of harm's way at his lodge. He taught us language, how to build, teamwork, and combat. Master Erra is naturally a jokester, so that's where we get our wild energy from. Like I said before, we are not the only Leaftins out there. But we are the only ones he has trained!"

Wyzsta wrote down as Gamo spoke and looked down at him. "That's so incredible. I never knew of your species before, and it's so interesting. Hopefully, we find more of you out there! So from here, where do we head?" Wyztsa asked.

"Just follow this path the whole way, and you'll reach Master Erra's residence. If the lake is on your right…you'll be all right!"

They then began back on their mission to make it to Pop Pop Erra's place. Wyzsta and Kali slid down a steep hill to return to the western lake path. Wyzsta shook the snow off his cloak and emptied his pouches to remove any snow. Kali practically blended in with the snow because of her lab coat. She then patted her coat and pants to release all the extra snow on her. They then hopped back on the trail to begin walking once again. An hour goes by, and the two of them are playing a game of keep it up with a baby fireball Kali made.

 "At this point, it's a hot potato; you're killing me here!" Wyzsta said while he felt the fireball burn through his gloves. 

Kali giggled, and once she caught it, she distinguished it and ended it to save him any more pain. They both laughed and continued along the lake trail. They reached a point where the blizzard started to fade, and there was a yellow hew in the distance. "Is that a fire burning up ahead?" Kali asked as she pointed towards it. 

Wyzsta looked over and knew, "Nope…that would be Pop Pop's house…"