Elona Bound: Part 9
----- Harmonious Opposites -----
A glance to her companions showed they did not reciprocate her feelings. Prymi and her sister seemed to be much more comfortable adapting to the heat than did the two humans clad in full plate armor, Bella and Ryo. They rode up ahead, perhaps subconsciously expediting their efforts. Demitra would almost expect the griffons they rode to take to the sky, but having no direction, they remained grounded. More than a few times had they leaped to extend their wings, but were subdued by their riders.
Ember was the most comfortable in the heat. Her hair, blowing in the wind, produced ash which flowed, intermingling with the dust her flamelander kicked up. She seemed genuinely at home in the desert heat, albeit a bit overdressed in a clunky armored suit. "Containment suit," she'd called it. The woman was a bundle of secrets Demitra longed to unravel. In their short conversations, she found the woman's forthrightness and honesty unwavering, which added more to the intrigue surrounding her. However, the Elonian would be remiss to dismiss the woman's curiosity and excitement - along with anger - she exhibited during the recent battle. All these things were like a magnet to Demitra's curiosity. She offered a blushing smile when Ember caught her looking, who smiled back. The two were just about to start a dialog, when Orabella interrupted.
"That's it, isn't it? Amnoon? The Oasis?" She pointed just ahead of the party.
The rest of the group caught up to stand on an overlooking dune. Below them awaited the Free City of Amnoon. Resting on the Elon River, the city was situated as an area most fleeing from Joko's domain wound up. While Demitra's efforts were in Vabbi, she'd always considered Amnoon her 'home-away-from-home,' and had come through many times in her travels. Recently though, its status of a marketplace of great importance was solidified, with the influx of outlander arrivals. Shops and traders were concentrated around the center plaza, surrounded by pyramid structures and a large perimeter wall. Amnoon's gates were guarded and while they were mostly in place to halt the occasional Choya stampede, they were at times a bit xenophobic to newcomers and visitors, falling back to the city's original status of a santuary. While not condoning this mentality, Demitra understood this and took the lead and brought the group to the entrance. After a few words in Elonian to the guards, the gates were opened to the party, revealing the bustling city inside.
"Welcome all, to the Free City of Amnoon, or Amnoon Oasis, as it were." Demitra's eyes sparkled. "Quite the site, eh, 'Mister' Prymi?"
Prymi leaned forward on her springer, peered into the marvelous display ahead. "Indeed," she said with an awe to her voice. The city had definitely held a charm and immensity anyone would be humbled by.
After a few moments, Ryo shifted on the griffon. "And here we are. Shall we go settle down?" he said as diplomatically as his discomfort would allow.
Orabella smiled understandingly at her husband. While she knew he hadn't gotten burned, it took a lot to knock the man to the ground, and she worried if he'd suffered any injuries and not reported them. "I think we should. I need to calm my nerves a bit."
"There is no shortage of alcohol available here; I would say this place has indeed earned the term, 'Oasis,'" Demitra joked.
"I think a short walk around the market place a bit would help calm me, actually," Bella offered to Ryo, thinking she may use the opportunity to find a healer for him.
Prymi took in a deep breath. "Well, at least we are out of danger here," she paused considering, "I hope." She looked behind her at Khirra, who had been straggling slowly behind. "Khirra, the way is safe. Let's go get something to munch on."
"Do we have designated areas to stay?" Ember was a ball of excitement, her eyes darting all over the scene.
Demitra considered. "I would say stay within the boundaries of Amnoon for the time being. I shall ready my contact for admittance to the safe haven, and I believe we should all stay here overnight to gather strength for the journey there; for Vabbi is still very far away."
Ryo audibly sighed as he and Bella rode off into the square. Prymi and Khirra hurriedly went to the marketplace, no doubt interested in the exotic offerings. Ember stayed, came to stand next to Demitra, who was reading from a scroll which found its way to her via raven delivery.
"What's it say?" Ember inquired, noting the look on the Elonian's face.
"Of all the… He…" she took in a breath. "All our belongings have been transported to the bank here in Amnoon by our 'gracious' captain."
Ember frowned. "What an ass!"
"Oh, you have no idea!" Demitra fumed.
"You two have a history?"
Demitra scowled. "Apparently, just business… And apparently even that was not what I was lead to believe."
Ember raised an eyebrow.
The Elonian's focus went back to the white-haired woman. "Yeah. It was my fault," she admitted. "I should have properly discussed the business arrangement before we…" she struggled to find the word, defaulting to an Elonian swear.
A silent understanding nod came from Ember. Demitra's emerald eyes stared at the woman. Her hair was haphazardly covering her face, a bit of ash covering her shoulder, but her smile conveyed such unjudging warmth at the her, it made her cheeks flush.
Ember grinned at Demitra. Even embarrassed, the woman was stunning.
"We… We should retrieve our belongings now, yeah?"
The two made their way toward the bank, Ember reluctantly leaving her flamelander in the care of the city handler. The sun began to drift, filling the sky with orange and soft yellows, making ready for night. The marketplace also slowed, settling to a few last minute shoppers and passersby. Nodding to a few fellow Elonians, Demitra took pride in her people, and exuded confidence, which Ember didn't have to be an empath to pick up on. They eventually came to a clothing stand before the bank. Demitra felt the material of some of the latest fashions, an unexplored interest. Being a freedom fighter against Joko's army didn't lend its time well to fashion wars.
Echoing the woman's thoughts, Ember murmured, "I never understood fashion."
Demitra flashed the woman a smirk. "Oh, I find your look… highly fashionable."
Ember looked down, brushing away the compliment. "It's… It's just armor I couldn't melt. Containment for my…"
"Heat?" Demitra interrupted with a grin. "Well, you wear it well, Ember Drak… Ember."
"Um, thanks," she said.
Demitra unabashedly grinned at the stoic woman. She was cute in her own completely awkward and wild way.
"So this is home?" Ember injected.
"Oh no. I suppose I think of this as a stay-over; a point of interest between missions that has always attracted me. I enjoy the simple life this place offers. It reminds me of when I was a child. I grew on the outskirts of Vabbi in a village resembling this city. Not as grandiose, granted, but…" she paused a moment with a sigh. "We were happy."
"Vabbi, huh? That a town?"
Demitra absently fingered through dresses and gowns. "Sort of… I suppose one would say domain? It lies beyond Joko's wall. Further still beyond that, is where I called home."
Ember tilted her head to the side, a bit of ash sprinkling her shoulder. "Called? You don't live there anymore?"
She returned a shayla she was trying on to turn to Ember looking solemnly, seriously. "No, Ember. There is nothing left... After Joko's minions destroyed the area, there was nothing left. Now the branded has encroached, and decimated the entire area. Vabbi sets between an existence of desolation or corrupted crystallization; this is no longer what I call home."
Ember blinked. "I'm… sorry," she found herself saying. She was not used to apologizing, not used to feeling such empathy for another's past. She, herself, had such a tragic past that she'd inadvertently become calloused, often not allowing anyone below the surface. Demitra seemed to have snuck past her defenses and Ember wasn't sure if this was a good thing…
Demitra smiled at the woman's awkward apology, feeling such internal conflict within Ember; she knew it took a lot for her to say the words. "I… I appreciate that from you," she said softly.
The woman rubbed the back of her neck, clumsily. "Um, so our belongings?" She attempted to divert the conversation from an uncomfortable topic.
"Yes! Let us go speak to the banker; hopefully they will not require payment to retrieve our items," Demitra said, nodding to the vendor in appreciation.
Ember frowned. "Why would we have to pay? They are ours!"
Demitra shrugged a shoulder. "Things work differently here."
"That's not right!" Ember almost shouted.
"Of this we are in agreement." Demitra continued their walk, decided a change of topic, an attempt to defuse Ember's temper. "You say you have not heard of Vabbi, yet earlier I recall you mentioning your mother. Is she from Elona? Not Vabbian, obviously, since you have not heard of this place."
Ember shook her head. "No, I'm not sure where exactly she was from. Mother died when I was born; father blamed me for that." Her voice wavered a bit. "I do know that we look a lot alike, mother and I. Oh, and that her name was Nora!" she exclaimed, then paused, continuing in a somber tone. "Father called her that when he was drunk."
Demitra took in a breath. The woman was an emotional rollercoaster; it seemed she would have to work on subduing her empathic abilities, given her companion's consistently fluctuating emotions.
"Come; let us go haggle for what we already own," Demitra teased the woman with her own words.
Finally arriving at the bank teller, Demitra leaned on the counter, began speaking to the woman in Elonian.
Ember followed suit, also leaning on the counter, her eyes taking on an orange glow. "I don't speak your language, and I don't know what she said…" Her eyes pierced the bank teller. "But, I'll be taking my things now."
Demitra eyed the merchant, then Ember. "I doubt that will get us what we require."
The bank teller looked at Ember, raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. She turned to Demitra saying a few explicatives about her companion in Elonian.
"Then I melt my way in!" Ember warned, lifting a hand which burst into flame.
Demitra, seeing the condescending teller's now worrisome face, took her cue. She waved a hand at the flame. Suddenly four additional flames manifested, parallel to Ember's fist. Clearly mimics of the original flame, they were no less deadly than that of Ember's fire and conveyed to the teller the two were more than capable of melting the vault if needed.
Ember turned her hand, pointed a finger to the teller.
Demitra shattered the flames, which paused for a moment then softly exploded, enough to make a loud glass-breaking scare, but not enough to injure the woman, who was now sweating and holding her hands up in surrender.
"Our things," Ember demanded.
Mimicking Ember's pose, Demitra leaned on the counter, sternly exclaiming, "Now!" She then added a counterintuitive, "If you please."
Ember glanced at the Elonian and almost broke character as she stifled a laugh. Demitra attempted such furiosity, but still dispensed pleasantries, and while the woman seemed to be a masterful diplomat and powerful mesmer, her beauty made her sternness almost comical.
The teller quickly went about retrieving the women's respective trunks, Demitra with the smaller one and Ember with a rather large one, which the banker had difficulties hoisting onto the counter.
Demitra watched Ember gather her things with a look of admiration, impression, and intrigue. A mystery to unravel, indeed…
Once they turned to leave the bank, Demitra quietly slid a gold piece to the teller with a warm smile.
To Be Continued...
