Goodbyes.

"I promise I won't leave again."

She watched him walk out the door after saying his farewell speech to everyone in the tavern.
The corners of her eyes turned up like the corners of her mouth as a smile took over her face.
This was no longer a rare and twisted occasion.
Gallothrix was finding the balance. Not the same balance that most people seek, but the same one Nyx had found years ago.
To her, there wasn’t a real evil. There wasn’t a real good. Things just were and either you liked them or you didn’t. All you had in life was you, and you needed to do the things that made you happy. People always relied so much on each other, when really, there was no guarantee that they would stick around.
But friendship, Nyx decided, was ok. She knew she didn’t need it, but while she had it, it was ok. Gallothrix was her first human friend and this was also ok.
She would help him and enjoy his company for however long it lasted. At the same time, he was more like family. No...not family...he was part of her pack.
This was something she had never experienced, but seen from afar in nature.
This was the healthy needing.
This is what she had with Gallothrix.
She stood up and patted the table she had so often occupied and scuttled towards the door. She pulled up her hood, opened the door and slipped out without a word.
If people saw this as negative, then they didn’t understand and that was ok with her.
She made her way down to the shore and found Gallothrix waiting just like he said he would.
She smiled up at him and, on an impulse, threw her arms around him briefly.
Let’s go

Tai watched as Nyx and Gallothrix left the tavern. She wanted desperately to say goodbye, but she wanted to stay here.

Balannaer left the tavern and Brian came in. He also left promptly. Elaine, too.

It was good to see they were still around.

She turned to Tsier, once again.

"When do we leave?"

*

Pik watched Brian come into the tavern. His exit was wonderful as he threw gold about as if he had more than anyone else in here combined. Pik, herself, was quite poor. Not a piece left after getting the milk.

Her ears perked up as he mentioned something about finding out how everything had been connected. She smiled. Who better to find information from than her fellow caster?

Pik hopped up.

"Well, my friends, I have appreciated my time with you! Even though it was short, it was a blast. I hope to see you in the future!" Pik bowed and backed out of the tavern. She ran after The Laughing Man and looked back only once to see the fading, glowing lights coming from the windows of the tavern.

She laughed and continued running, her eyes peeled for the magician.

"I don't know Rhian... I just don't know" Garok took a seat nearby boomstick hitting the back of his knees on the way down." I guess I'll go back to Redfrost and then head into the forest of orcs.." Garok sat there for a bit "yeah that's a good idea no-ones every actually explored there..... I guess I'll be the first"

Rhian smiled, albeit a bit forcefully. Garok, when he had first joined their number, was the one she could always count on to be the first to flee from a fight. His courage had apparently increased along with his prowess in battle. "Then may fortune smile on you." She reached forward and gave him a heary smack on the shoulder. "Should you ever find self in southern waters, arms of Wolf tribe of Sagea are to be always open to you, my friend!" The smile was coming easier now. They had lost in many ways, but overall, their quest had been a triumph.

Gallothrix was stunned for a moment at Nyx's... hug, and then recalled what he was doing. He stepped into a nearby boat, and stretched out his hand to help Nyx in, "come on, we best be on our way," he said in the indest voice he could, which still sounded a little cruel. He pulled Nyx into the boat, and they set out.

Garok got up and headed for the door "Well I better be heading home, got a lot of cleaning up to do.... hopefully I'll see you all sometime in the future" Garok headed out the door just as there was a sound of thunder. "Figures... more flipping rain" Garok headed down the path and into the night.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A month later Garok appeared in Redfrost. He stayed for a week before heading out into the orc woods. Rumor had it that every so often there was a sound of a boomstick going off, and the roar of a orc shortly followed. Everyone thought that Garok had died, but 2 years after he went in he came back out.

With him he brought the heads of the warlords of the major tribes, and a new axe. The day he came out the leader of Redfrost died, the people of Redfrost decided to make Garok there new leader. And to this very day he rules over Redfrost, not as Garok the Merry, but as Garok Stormwind, Defender of Redfrost, and the Bane of all Orcs in the world.

Thyrus left his seat and started for the door. Many of his companions and friends had left for their homes, or to continue on their travels. Now it was his turn to leave. Before he left the tavern for good, he spoke with Valkeron.

"Valkeron, I hope we meet again sometime, and I hope that Romm and Escarr will continue to improve their relations. You are a knight of Romm, and I know that you will continue to serve your country well. Goodbye."

With these last words, Thyrus left the tavern and headed for a port to find a boat. He supposed that when he returned to Escarr he would rejoin their army, but he didn't plan on returning right away.

Valkeron looked around at the friends he had gained. He realized it was time to head to the estates that were waiting for him.

"Goodbye everyone! It was a pleasure fighting alongside every single one of you! Good luck, to everyone, I pray I see you all again!"

With that Valkeron gathered up his shield and sword. He walked out of the tavern clanking all the way to the land that would be his home. He strode out with pride, and dissapeared into the horizon.

May Romm guide me safely

Rhian watched Garok depart with a faint smile. He was followed by Thyrus and Valkeron as the tavern progressively emptied. Soon, she was one of the only ones left. They were all the survivors, including her. How much longer would she survive? She planned to settle down and take her place at the head of the Wolf tribe upon her return for Sagea, giving up adventuring to take care of her people. With her half-elven blood, how many of her friends would she outlive? And what would become of all of them? Gallothrix, Nyx, Valkeron, Godfrey, Christian, Balannaer, Garok, Bra'khar, Elaine, Val, Tai, The Laughing Man, Tallon, Methuin, Thurwynd, Tommy.... They were the survivors, and yet, she was still losing them. This was goodbye. The end of things. Their alliance had been strong enough to shatter the evils of the world, but now it had eroded away as they each went down their separate paths.

It was funny to think of how much had changed since the first day she met this group, searching for mercenary work at the Mayhem Arena. She'd been both jaded and naive then, mistrustful towards a world she didn't understand. Over time, she'd overcome the obstacles of prejudice, fear, loneliness, and the language barrier to form friends she trusted with her life, and would never forget. These were heroes whose names would be sung in Sagean legends for generations to come.

Sagea. Her thoughts whirled back to her homeland, where she would soon return for good. How she'd missed it all those years, returning only briefly before departing for the final battle. She had won honor and glory, and earned her place as the true daughter of Somalin Vek. Yet things were not unchanged even there... She was a different person now, and her island... the barriers would have to come down soon. Her friends had been the first outsiders to be greeted en masse with open arms to her tribe, mages and Rommians among them. The world was changing, and with this new opening, Sagea would have to change with it, for better or for worse.

At last she stood, pulling her cloak over her shoulders and grasping her polearm in her callused hand. It was time to set out, if she wished to make the next ship to Seleniok, and from there to Sagea. As she crossed the tavern, her eyes alit on a shadow beneath a tree. Curiously venturing towards it, she found the broken halves of Christian's shield. Brows knitting together in concerned curiosity, she reached for the strapping to lift it. What she thought to be strapping, however, came away in her hand; closer inspection revealed it to be a map, with the word 'home.' She smiled mysteriously understanding perfectly.

This was goodbye.
The end of things.
Or was it?

Not goodbye. She thought, pushing open the door, and stepping out into the falling mist. Just, until next time. There were some bonds that were stronger than life, death, and time itself.

As she walked down the path, the rain came to a halt and a small opening in the clouds appeared. Through it, a small scattering of stars twinkled down at her, lifting her spirits. In Sagean lore, it was said that the souls of particularly brave and honorable men and women were placed by the ancestors into the sky. She smiled up at the stars, knowing that somewhere, the spirits of Dominic, and the true Damian Isak, were smiling back.

And so, with her face towards the sky and a polearm over her shoulder, Rhian Vek-Tarmacar Keroken, Daughter of the Wolf Tribe, future Chieftain of Sagea, Sister of the Blood Oath, and Hero of the Spoke War walked out of sight of the Fuzzy Dragon, and with her companions, into legend.