“First things first,” he continued, finally keeping ahead of Kre’s interruptions. “I want to show you around a bit. We’ve put a lot of work into this, and I don’t know how much time we’ll have, so please indulge us in this.”
Kre nodded once, finally looking around him and taking it all in. He swallowed once, hard, as he suddenly remembered just how alone he was now, dealing with another powerful creature without any guidance or help from his friends.
“After that,” the priest said with a wide, salesman-like smile, “we can talk about history and such to your heart’s content.”
Kre smiled at that, hoping to learn more about this ancient people. History was never a favorite subject of his, but he always did have this strange fascination with what his people called the Ancients and the historic ruins. When he was younger, he remembered playing “Ruins & Adventurers” with his friends, running around the pastures with sticks and capes, battling imaginary monsters while in search of historic relics.
Now, here he was, face to face with one of the Ancients, standing in a replica of one of their cities, and about to uncover actual secrets of the past. If it weren’t so incredibly scary, it would almost be like a dream come true.
“What of my friends? They’ll be quite worried about me.”
The priest shrugged, “Let’s not worry about them. They’re not here, but you are. That’s enough for now.”
“Will… em… will I see…” Kre stuttered, unsure of how to phrase his next words. The very idea that he might not see Bel or Kitalia was a notion he found difficult to entertain, let alone voice.
The priest waved his hand dismissively, “Oh certainly, certainly, if that’s what you want. Well,” he added after a moment’s pause, “I should say that I can get you out of here but joining you back up with your friends… well, that’s up to you and them.”
He noticed Kre’s look of general confusion and sighed, “Listen kid, let’s be honest here. To the two of them, you’re pretty much dead weight. Frankly, aside from the humor factor, I just don’t see what you bring to that little group of yours.”
Kre didn’t respond. He knew in his heart that the man spoke the truth. Bel pretty much came and went as she pleased, so Kre had no consternation with letting her down. Kitalia though, with her, Kre knew that he was just a string of disappointments. Why she kept traveling with him was a mystery and even just after a short time with them, the priest saw it too.
“Don’t fret about it much,” the man continued. “This is what happens when you travel with the fairer sex. You will always be overshadowed and measured unfairly. If I can impart but a single lesson to you during our time together, that shall be one that will carry you successfully to the end of your days.”
The priest started walking forward down the street, his arm still around Kre’s shoulders and pulling him along. “However, I have more wisdoms I wish to leave you with before our time together is over. Let us begin with a quick tour of my fair city.”