Wakfu Next: The Isles of Weldercrest

Alibert II: 1

THE bear walked slowly as Bert walked next to it, putting his hand on the bear's husky and transparent body for support and guidance. He wondered how tall the bear would be if it stood up on its hind legs. They walked in silence for what seemed like hours until the bear stopped. Bert looked around and saw the bushes rustling. The bear began to growl until the rustling stopped. "What was that?" Bert thought aloud. 'The inhabitants of this place' the bear responded in a low, baritone, voice. Bert jumped back and lost his footing, landing on his bottom. "You can talk!?" The bear looked back at him with its blank white eyes. "Indeed" it replied, "We must keep moving, the inhabitants of this island do not take kindly to visitors" Bert stood up and followed after the bear as it went through the foliage. "Why didn't you tell me you could talk?" he asked putting his hand on the bear again. "You didn't ask, little cub" it replied. "We must hurry. I must bring you to her highness in one piece." Bert felt uneasy all of a sudden. "Why?" he asked hesitantly. "Why do you want me to meet this person and why do we have to hurry?" The bear stopped and sniffed the air before making a right into more bushes before answering the questions. "The Goddess Aria requires your presence. It's why she brought you here. But I must guide you to her. As for your second question, all who live on the isles, worship our goddess in many different ways. However, in these woods, there are those who worship her with the sacrifice of unfortunate outsiders who are able to make their way here." Bert gulped and leaned in closer to the bear. "Fear not child," it said, They will not harm you so long as I am here. The rustling of the bushes became less and less frequent as time went on. It wasn't long before they came to a large metal clock tower with three giant cogs rotating out of the left side. The bear sniffed a large metal door, with a set of six gears inside of it going from top to bottom, and placed its paw in the center. The door emitted a golden light before the gears inside of it began to whir and the door sank into the ground. Bert followed the bear inside. It was pitch black and the sounds of clocks could be heard all around him. The only thing he could see was the faintly glowing bear that guided him further into the tower. The bear finally sat in the middle of the room and gave a soft grunt. Suddenly the tower was filled with light and Bert marveled at what he saw. The tower only looked big on the outside, because inside it looked like a really tall room. There were all kinds of clocks, and gears that decorated the walls. The ceiling was made of metal but it looked like it could be opened for whatever reason. As Bert walked around the room taking it all in, he came across a work bench. It had a great deal of metal parts, springs, and bolts on it. There were some unfinished noxines laying lifelessly on the work bench. Unfamiliar with them, Bert reached out and grabbed on. The noxine's light flashed a couple times and a soft yet distorted beep sounded before it fell dead again. Suddenly a podium behind him lit up. Bert looked back and up to the empty podium. Suddenly, the image of a young woman appeared on it. She looked like she was angry as she scanned the room until her eyes met Bert's. "Hey kid!" she yelled, "Who are you and what are you doing in my house!?" Bert looked around for the bear, but it was gone. It was just him and this woman now. "I-I..." he stuttered trying to think of something to say" The woman crossed her arms and tapped her foot a few times before looking closer. "wait a second..." she said. "That hat...You're the missing Eliatrope Prince aren't you!?" Bert nodded his head slowly as the woman's face softened just a bit. "Wait a second" she said, "So that means that you're..." She suddenly gasped. "How did you get there kid!" Bert scratched his head. "I think I washed up on this weird place and then I followed this purple bear that led me here" The young woman placed her chin in her hand as she pondered for a moment. "It looks like sis saved you after all" she said mostly to herself, " I just wish I could remember what happened after she killed that monster" The woman shook her head. "It doesn't matter anyway. The fact is that I can tell your folks that you're alive. They'll be so relieved. Especially your mom." Bert's eyes got wide in excitement. "You know my mom!?" he asked. "Sure do!" the woman said rubbing her nose wearing a cocky smile, "She had thought you were dead because it had been three days since the vessel exploded and nothing was really left" Bert didn't know how he felt being told that he could have died. "Can you come and get me lady?" The woman's image sat down and looked him in the eyes with confidence. "First, don't call me lady. My name is Chronu. Chronu Harebourgh . Second, yes, as soon as my sister, Clara, stops flapping her yapper to this Cra kid, I'll be able to pass along the message. Until then though, you can stay in my place. You'll be safe in here since the other residents don't like it near me. There's a bed that comes out if you turn the handle, next to this podium, clockwise" Bert walked over and did as he was told and, sure enough, the work bench behind him sank into the floor and a bed with red blankets with cog patterns came out of the wall . "Why does everything look like a clock in here?" Bert asked as he sat on the bed and looked back at Chronu. "I'm a Xelor, kid" she said with obvious annoyance, "Clocks are kind of what I do" Bert looked down at the floor before popping his head back up. "Oh yeah! Chronu!" he said suddenly. Chronu's eyes widened at his sudden outburst. "I kept hearing this other lady's voice in my head when I was on the beach. She kept saying 'come find me'" Chronu tilted her head to the side as she pondered once more. "Also," Bert continued, "while I was sleeping I had this weird dream. This tall lady was leading me somewhere. She looked like me, but she had a lot of purple on. That's when I woke up on the beach" Chronu's image flickered for a moment. "Agh. She's calling me" she said in annoyance, "Alright look kid. It sounds like my sister wants you for something. My advice to you is to keep following that voice. You said you followed a purple bear in here right?" Bert nodded. "Then next she'll probably send one of her actual bears to take you the rest of the way because from my house it gets quite complicated. In the meantime, get some sleep. My sis probably just wants to watch you until we come and get you. We'll be there soon okay?" Chronu's image finally flickered out and Bert was left all alone. Bert sat back on the surprisingly soft bed. It suddenly reminded him of his bed back home. As he looked up at the ceiling, tears began to fill his eyes. Bert lay down and quickly fell asleep with homesick thoughts of his friends and family.