Chronicles of Uel

Chapter 2

Uel and Duros stared up at the bounty board in front of them, Duros having weaved a hood for himself out of his tunic.
         Uel pointed at one of the posters. "That one."
         Duros nodded. "Sounds like fun. But where do we start? He could be anywhere in Tritanus."
         Uel nodded. "This is the not so fun part."
         Duros sighed. "How long does this 'not so fun part' normally last?"
         Uel shrugged. "Sometimes lasts a while. I normally pick up city bounties, but country ones are plenty more profitable."
          Duros nodded. "Makes sense." He picked up Steven and began petting him.
           "He likes you." Uel said.
           Duros chuckled. "Well, I like him." He snuggled up against Steven. "Earlier you said he wasn't a chicken. What exactly is he then?"
           Uel shook his head. "Not a chicken."
           Duros groaned. "Is that all you know about him?"
           Uel shook his head. "It's all I can tell you about him."
           Duros sighed and looked down at Steven. "What are you?" Steven clucked and pecked Duros's nose with a single tap.
            "So what's it like to have the power to move the ground whenever you want?" Uel asked as the two began walking down the street.
            Duros shrugged. "I don't know. I've never not been able to, so it's just normal for me."
            "Yeah, but what's it feel like while you mance? All that power running through you?"
            Duros thought for a moment. "It's kind of like lifting something heavy. Sometimes it's tougher than you would expect, depending on the material. Sometimes if you lift too much you'll drop it before you finish with what you need it to do. Hard to explain, really."
            Uel nodded. "I think you explained it pretty well."
           Duros smiled under his hood. "Thanks." He said. Uel continued to walk and look around. "Why do you wear such a concealing helmet?" Duros asked.
           Uel sighed. "It's a long story. One I cannot share, much like Steven's."
           Duros lowered his eyebrows. "So you want me to trust you even though I know nothing about you?"
           Uel shrugged. "Hey, I could have taken you in. That should be a good enough reason to trust me."
           Duros shrugged. "I guess so." Uel summoned his dagger and threw it into the air. "What are you doing?"
           "Sometimes the dagger points me toward the bounty's location. That's how I found you." Duros stared up at the spinning dagger above their heads. It stopped and pointed in a random direction. Uel grabbed the dagger and began walking that way, right past town borders.
         "Hey, wait. Don't we need transport?"
           Uel looked back at him. "You're a fugitive. No way we could get a cart of any sort so easy."
          Duros sighed and began walking behind him. "The western part of Tritanus is so hot, though."
          Uel chuckled. "Shouldn't be a problem for a man made of stone."
          Duros shook his head. "It doesn't work like that."
          Uel shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to deal with it, then. Steven can handle it." Duros looked down at Steven, who clucked his approval and sped up to walk beside Uel.
           Duros slumped over. "Fantastic." He said.

A mysterious man dropped into a strangely lit cave with lava flowing through the sides, and a stone pathway running through it. At the center of the cave, where the lava was the brightest and hottest, there was some sort of table, a long golden handle sticking out of the top. Several braziers adorned the edges of the small island the table stood on. The man smiled. He clutched the handle and yanked it from the table, a bright red light escaping the newly open portion in the table. The man looked down at the golden bar, a strange red mist escaping the top, yet dissipating soon after it left the bar.
            "Ignious." He said softly. A glowing, transparent red blade appeared at the top of the bar. The man chuckled. He swung the blade around before pointing it at one of the braziers. The fire began moving strangely. It stretched up into the air and swirled around. The flames coiled around him and created shapes at the wave of the blade. The man laughed as the flames spread out around him.