• Chapter 8: Cold Welcome at Firastratus

    The sun rose as the ship soon got close to Kea Cirrus Port.
    Valerius, Nauplius, Rouvin, and Zanthe got off the boat and entered the town. The town was relatively small, similar to the fishing villages of old, but with some of the high technology—just enough to make life comfortable without it being TOO much a luxury.
    The four went into a buffet-style restaurant for breakfast and to try to get their bearings on where to go next. It was like buffet restaurant one would see in most suburban places, but with a Roman theme to it.
    As they had breakfast, Valerius murmured, “I wonder if anyone has seen where the warlock had gone. Surely someone might know where we can go next.”
    An Elf Waitress approached, with the usual waitress attire one would expect at a modern-day restaurant. Her tan-gold hair and gray eyes looked upon the party.
    “Warlock?” she asked as she was gently pouring more coffee for the four. “As in, Warlock Erebus?”
    “You heard the news, I take it,” said Rouvin.
    “He had been causing a ruckus here earlier,” said the waitress. She then added, “If anyone has a gist of where he’s at, it’s the baron.”
    “Thank you, dear woman,” said Nauplius as he began to prepare the tip, since the party was almost done with breakfast.
    Zanthe went to the cashier to pay for the meal, and then the four exited to the town streets.

    The baron’s mansion was at the eastern side of town, made of wood, concrete, and plaster, designed to look as noble as possible.
    The gatekeeper saw the four coming. He was a human who had a receding brown hairline and gray eyes. He wore a butler suit to indicate his position of service.
    “Ah, welcome, travelers,” said the gatekeeper. “What brings you here?”
    Valerius cleared his throat and explained, “We need to speak with the baron. We have heard rumors that the Warlock Erebus was here, and that he has clues to his current whereabouts.”
    “Oh, dear,” the gatekeeper said. His tone sounded calm, but inwardly, he was nervous. He then regained his composure and continued, “I’ll alert the baron and ask if he may allow you in.”
    The gatekeeper contacted the baron through a small radio receiver, saying “There are four travelers here wishing to speak with you. They say they are in pursuit of the warlock, and believe you know where he currently is.”
    A somewhat cheerful voice at the other end said, “You may let them in.”
    With a small smile, the gatekeeper then pressed a few buttons, and the gates gently slid open.

    The four approached the mansion. It’s bright white walls and clear windows contrasted well with the red roofs—its architecture very similar to a mansion one would see in the Greek Islands in the real world.
    The baron soon stepped forward. He was a light tan skinned human with brown hair that had blond tips, and was slightly spiky. His teal eyes showed a look of goodwill as he emerged from the mansion decked out in a dark green (almost black) tuxedo with white inner shirt, and greenish black shoes to match.
    “Welcome, travelers!” the baron said with a voice that almost sounded like he was about to sing a number from a popular Broadway musical. “I am Baron Luke Cirrus! I heard from my gatekeeper you were after that maniacal warlock, Erebus!”
    “Yes, Baron Cirrus!” replied Valerius. “He is after ingredients of the Forbidden Ritual, and has my beloved Delphinia captive!”
    When Valerius mentioned the Forbidden Ritual, Baron Cirrus’ smile faded away, and he seemed to tremble.
    “The Forbidden Ritual?!” Baron Cirrus said, almost as a gasp.
    “Yes,” said Zanthe. “He had stolen the stone tablet containing the ritual from Olympalantis a few days ago.”
    “This is indeed an ill turn of events,” replied the baron. “The last thing this empire needs is for Erebus Tonadi to usurp the gods’ power.”
    “Do you know where he was last seen?” asked Valerius.
    “I do indeed,” answered the baron. “He was last seen heading toward Straturini Volcano in the island of the same name.”
    “If he’s not there hunting for the ingredients,” said Nauplius, “he may at the very least be there causing trouble. Perhaps might trigger an eruption in the near future.”
    “We better go check the place out!” said Rouvin.
    “I’ll get your ship ready to head to Straturini,” said the baron. “The gods protect you always!”

    Some of the barons servants—some human, some Elf—prepare the heroes’ ship and stock some supplies that the baron made payment for. Soon, the people bade the four farewell.
    The ship arrived at the island of Straturini in about an hour and fifteen minutes. A pier near the beach allowed the ship to dock well.
    No sooner had they left the bark, however, than did some trouble emerged. Some small sand creatures, variants of an Earth Elemental in this case, emerged from the beach. The sand balls they through made impacts in the ground that showed that it could hit hard despite what they were made of.
    Nauplius got out his battle hammer. The stone glistened in the island sun as it swung and smashed the sand creatures back into the substance it was made from.
    The four soon went into the jungle, where more elemental creatures wandered about.
    A few fairies made of Fire, serpents and maidens made of Water, cloud eagles to represent Air, and some more men made of Earth, were about the forest. The Fire Fairies would singe some of the trees, and the Water Elementals—maiden or serpent—would snuff out the flame enough to show the damage done.
    “Has nature gone mad in this island?” asked Zanthe.
    “More like Erebus has gone through here!” replied Rouvin as he loaded an arrow into his bow. The elf shot a few Fire Fairies to snuff them out into wisps of smoke.
    Valerius got out his plasma blade to slice through some of the Earth Men, and they melted back into the mud. But more elemental beings emerged to replace them.
    “I sense some of the magic controlling this,” explained Zanthe. “Perhaps I can perform a counterspell.”
    Zanthe then raised her staff and chanted. The staff glowed, and she glowed as well. In about half a minute, the elementals soon vanished. The fiery fairies all vanished at once, and the rest of the elementals dissolved back into the substances they were derived from.
    “There,” sighed the female elf. “I think things are back to normal here.”
    “I see a city up ahead,” said Nauplius.
    “That city is Firastratus,” replied Rouvin, “and that is our next stop.”
    The four then resumed up the forest trail to the city of Firastratus.

    The city of Firastratus looked like a mix between ancient Ephesus and a futuristic city from a science fiction movie, with many buildings decorated with glass made out of volcanic ash. Some of the buildings even had electronic bulletin boards colored in the various tones of the warm colors—red, orange, and yellow. In fact, since the island of Straturini is a volcanic island, the city of Firastratus incorporates fire as their theme, and their main temple is to Hephaestus in the heart of the city.
    However, when the four first entered, most of the citizens ignored them and went about their business.
    “Hey, can someone help us?” asked Valerius.
    Most of them acted like the four weren’t even there.
    “We don’t mean to intrude, but we need some directions!” called out Nauplius.
    “Get lost, shorty!” said one person.
    “And take those foreigners with you!” said a woman near him.
    “Well, aren’t we grouchy today!” said Zanthe with an exasperated sigh.
    “I know what’s going on,” said a soft child’s voice.
    The four looked and saw a young man, who motioned to them to follow them into his house. They took up his offer.
    Once all were inside, the young man gave them some warm non-alcoholic apple cider.
    “My name is Miltiades,” the young man said. “I am sorry for my fellow citizens’ unfriendly attitude. They’ve been acting like this since that warlock Erebus came in and cast a spell on the town.”
    “I should have known,” sighed Valerius. “That villain has been in the midst of everything lately.”
    Miltiades continued, “The villain had broken into the governor’s mansion and placed his Black Mirror within. A purple beam of magic shot upward and put the spell on everyone within the city. Well, everyone except me—I was out of town fishing at the beach at the time.”
    “Where is the governor’s mansion?” asked Nauplius.
    “It is on the west side of town, just outside the city limits,” answered Miltiades. “But because of the magic, no humans can get close.”
    “I can take the challenge to break the spell,” offered Rouvin. “Just leave it to me.”