75 75 A Merry Crew (1/2)

”Not as fucked as you might think kiddo,” laughed Jimmy.

”See, yer cap'n here knew ye were gonna do something like this, but she was hoping for you to actually NOT do it. Which if I might remind you, you did,” he laughed even harder.

”Yeah Donis, what the fuck? I asked you to stay away from this, I even told you that it might be a threat to your LIFE!... oh yeah I see my mistake,” sighed Striga.

”Guys, come on, I couldn't just NOT go to an ancient ruin, filled with mystery and a direct order from my boss! You guys aren't going to hog all the fun while I go and exterminate some questionable looking monsters,” Donis pouted half-heartedly.

”Alright, c'mere-to-me,” said Striga as she brought Donis closer to her.

”Listen, I'll forgive you this one time...” she whispered into his ear..

”But if you ever disobey me again, I'll remove YOUR Jimmies, and there will be no potion for you. I also have Yyrthrub under my thumb, if I want something unfixable, I ask him.”

Donis could only swallow at the implications she was insinuating.

”Now,” she patted him on the shoulder.

”Meet the crew, this is Rona, Cypher, Morick, and last but not least, John,” said Striga pointing out the men and women in front of her.

”John?” asked Donis confused.

”Yeah? Do you know him?” she looked at Donis quizzically.

”N-no! It's just an unusual name, is all,” he lied through his teeth.

'Why is his name John? That's so fucking not-of-this-world like. How could there be such a boring name in this world??' he screamed mentally.

A man who looked to be in his late thirties, dressed in combat garb stepped up. His face was baby-ish, with a weak jawline, and soft looking cheeks. His hair was auburn, and his eyes seemed a bit dull but they looked awake. He put out his hand for a greeting, and introduced himself.

”Aye, my names John, I know it's a bit of an exotic name, but don't let it fool ya. Am homegrown right on these lands, Grimbays my home!” he said with a slightly effeminate yet nasal-y voice.

”Y-yeah, it's a nice name,” stuttered Donis, meeting him for a handshake.

'Ugh, even his handshake is pathetic,' sighed Donis.

”I'm in charge of the map for the place, seeing how I'm the only person who can read this specific dialect of ancient Hran,” said John.

”Hran?”

”Yeah, the people who built this temple,” said John matter-of-factly.

”Don't mind him, he doesn't remember that most people don't know who the Hran were, nor that they have separate dialects. They were the ancient Erazarians, essentially. According to Cypher there, they built this temple as a homage to their ancient god Tekkun,” interjected Striga.

”Oh okay, but who's that?” asked Donis, getting annoyed at the info given. It just gave way to more questions with not enough answers.

”Alright lad, look, I don't want to give you a history lesson right now. Tekkun is what we believe the Hran worshipped. He seems to be one of the same gods that we have, but he shares all of the qualities of each of our gods. This temple could help us figure out the link between Tekkun and the entire pantheon of gods we worship,” said Cypher after stepping up.

She was a lithe woman who was no older than 20. Even her status page said so. It surprised Donis, since she also seemed far more hardened than any normal 20 year old he's met so far. She had black hair and grey-blue eyes, a striking feature on her plain looking face. She wore a similar combat garb that the entire group wore. A set of combat boots, dark pants which stuck tightly to their bodies and a jacket that seemed to function as both armour and a fashion statement.

”Yeah, now since you're caught up, you also need to know you've become a liability. The potential traps around here could kill you before you even know what's happened,” sighed Rona, another annoyed teammate.

She was a strong looking woman, with a face that could either be 25 or 35. Her stats told Donis she was actually 27, which didn't surprise him, but confused him at the same time. She was almost as tall as Striga, but her build fell short. She was definitely strong, but not chiselled like Striga. Her blond her betrayed her strong features, as it gave her the femininity that she definitely wasn't looking for. Her green eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, looking for danger.

”This is Rona, she's the trapmaster of ancient Hrans. She's going to be vital to our survival and is tasked with letting us know of dangers way before they even have a chance to hurt a hair on our heads,” said Striga looking at Donis. She then turned back to Rona and continued.

”Though you need to have some faith in this kid, he's far, far more capable than what you might be thinking,” laughed Striga.