Chapter 2 - The mystery of the elementals

I wake up early the next day to find myself feeling way better compared to the day before, and I step out of my room. There’s a hallway with several other doors. Okay… I guess I’ll just walk around. After a couple minutes of walking around for a bit, a guard spots me and stops.

“Hey wait a minute, you’re the man Clair found, aren’t you? I’m surprised you're up already. You looked bad, but then again, Claire did help, maybe she- ah never mind. So, how are you feeling? I’m Farris, one of the guards here, pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, thank you, nice to meet you.Um, I’m fine, I suppose. To be honest, I’m a little mixed up at the moment, haha. So, you're a guard? Could I ask you where we are?”

“You don’t know? Huh, thought someone would've told you. Well, we’re are at Rincus, we’re a small town. You’re in an aquas temple, at the moment.”

“Aquas? You mean, like water and elemental magic? I didn’t know there were anymore elementals here, I heard that water adepts don’t reside in Shadaar.”

“Well, um- I how should I explain this? Well, you should ask Teresa and Claire, I’ll show you where they are, I believe they should be in the study room at the moment.”

“Oh thank you, I’m grateful.” The guard starts heading to the other end of the hallway through some doors, and I begin to follow.

“You know, I was the one who found you and Claire heading into town. She was holding you on her back, she looked exhausted. I helped her bring you here.”

“Really? Well then, thank you for the help, I’m sure I would’ve died back in the desert if it weren't for you two. I should thank her then, too. I just remembered being ambushed by some bandits, then collapsing onto the ground after they attacked me, and stole all my possessions.”

“Bandits, huh? Damn them, scum of the earth, that’s what they are. We’ve been struggling to keep them at bay, lately. That must explain how they were able to attack you. I apologize, I believe us guards hold some responsibility in this matter, I’m ashamed we couldn’t do anything to protect travelers such as yourself.”

“Nonsense, you can’t expect to be able to protect everyone. I was well outside of town, this was out of your control. Next time, I’ll be more prepared.”

“Do you plan on leaving town?”

“Well, uh yes, not yet, though. I feel like I owe it to these people to stay and help them in anyway I can.”

“That’s very noble of you.”

“Heh, I don’t think so, I’m just returning the favor. Besides, I was planning to stop by this town anyways, see it’s sights and what not. That, and I doubt I’m in any condition to just leave town.”

“All true, I suppose. Well anyways, here we are. Teresa and Claire should in this room. Just knock, I must be on my way.”

“Oh, okay. Well thanks, Farris, I appreciate it. I hope we can talk again.”

“Of course, any time.” As Farris walks away, I pause for a moment, then I knock on the door labeled Study room.

“It’s open! Come in.” Teresa yells out.

I open the door awkwardly, and slowly walk in. “Um, hello, good morning.” Both Teresa and Claire are sitting on a table, reading large textbooks.

“Ah, Sam, hello! Glad to see you awake! How are you feeling today?” Teresa puts her book down to greet me.

“I’m feeling much better, thank you. I’m sorry, I must be interrupting you at the moment.”

“It’s okay, no need to worry. Sit down, if you like, we were just doing some reading, though it’s about time for us to take a break.”

“Oh, thank you. I was hoping we would be able to talk, what with all that’s happened.”

“Of course. So, Sam, tell us about yourself. You are a wanderer, right?”

“Oh, yes, I am! Well, I only just begun, I’ve only been to a few towns now! I was heading here when, uhhh, well, when the bandits attacked me.”

“Hey, it happens. Deserts fucked up.” Claire mummers “No use dwelling on the fucked up stuff.”

“Claire, show some sympathy.” Teresa states.

“No, it’s alright, really! I was careless, but I’m not about to start pitying myself. In fact, I should be thanking you, right Claire? After all, you are the one who saved my life, right?” I say.

“Oh, um! Well, yeah, I was, uh, the one who saved you, but don’t start thinking that- it was luck, that was all.”

“Nonsense, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you! I’m thankful, I don’t know how I could repay you!” I really am grateful.

“No, that’s not necessary at all, in fact, you helped me! Oh, um, Teresa?” Claire looks to Teresa, nervously.

“It’s okay, Teresa, just give it some time. By the way, Sam, do you by any chance believe in the power of elementals?”

“Oh right, this is an Aquas temple, correct? I don’t know much about elementals, though I’d love to learn more. Is it true that some people can actually control water? I’ve always been fascinated by the idea, though I’ve never seen it myself, I’ve only heard rumors.”

“Well, it’s partly true, what you’ve stated. There are certain people capable of controlling elementals, given they have the skill. They are known as adepts. Claire and I are scholars, studying the power of elementals, specifically that of aquas.”

“Really? That’s fascinating, I’ve heard so little about elementals, so this is all news to me, I didn’t even know they were still temples or people who believed in elementals.”

“Well, elemental creatures and adepts aren’t very common anymore, so it’s hard for anyone to really believe they exist, led alone know.”

Claire starts to contribute to the conversation as well. “I’ve heard that this kind of stuff is way more common in other lands, it seems that most elemental beings can’t sustain themselves in a desert like this one.”

“I suppose, but that still seems hard to believe that elementals could just vanish from a whole desert, there’s gotta still be some kind of adepts here, right? The desert can’t be that brutal, can it… well, still.”

“You’re not wrong. There’s still so much we don’t know’s out there, it’s just out there waiting to be found! Imagine all the new and exciting discoveries out there waiting to be made!” Claire immediately sparks up my interest.

“I know, that's actually why I became a Wanderer! I wanna see things I’ve never seen before, and find things I couldn’t even begin to fathom! There must be some elemental beings or something of value out here in the desert!”

“There must be!” Claire lights up in excitement.

“Why, you too certainly are excited!” Teresa cuts in and laughs.

“Oh, haha, I apologize.” I say

“Oh, there’s no need to apologize! If you’d like, we’d be more than happy to tell you about elementals.”

“That would be amazing! I’d love to learn more!”

Claire and Teresa start to explain more about elementals. “Unfortunately, there’s still so much we don’t know, such as how elementals came to be. Some say there was ancient Deities that gifted our planet with these gifts, though personally, I believe that these abilities had been with us since the beginning of humanity. That’s besides the point, however. In order for us to explain elementals, we must point out that this is nothing other worldly. If anything, I would compare elementals to the air around us. It’s something that’s constant, and abundant around us, it's just not visible.”

Claire opens up a tome and shows me a collection of pictures. “There’s several different forms that elementals take, each kinda forming our whole world. You're already aware of aqua's, the water elemental, but there are so much more. There’s the elemental connected to earth, terras, and the elemental linked with fire, Pyrus. But, besides for elementals connected to physical features, there’s also power linked to metaphysical forces, like telekinetics, gravity, laws of nature, and life and death!”

I’m starting to lose them now. “Wow, sounds complex.”

Claire continues. “It very much is. Like I said earlier, there is much that we still don’t understand, and our abilities to understand them severely limited.”

“Is there anything we can do?” I ask

“Well, we keep learning. That’s why Claire and I are here, in order for us to learn what mysteries lie waiting for us.” Teresa says as she grabs the tomes set on the table, and places them back on shelves. “Well, it’s time for me to begin tonight's duties.”

“Oh, please, allow me to help. It’s the least I could do after you’ve all saved my life.” I pick up some of the tomes as well, though as my hand starts getting more full, I realize I don’t even know where to put these things. “Uh, so, where do I put these books? Sorry.”

Teresa chuckles as Claire takes the tomes from my hands, and she starts putting the books away. “It’s alright, though if you do want to help, I’m fine with that. How about you help me prepare dinner?”

“Of course, I’d be more then happy to help!”

Author's Note

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