Abalasster

Name: Watchmen's Cuirass
Your Profession: Merchant
Your Rank: 2
Acquisition Roll ID: 130566
Identification Roll ID:
130573 | LD20 = Loot Die
130574 | LD11 = Recovery
Item Type: Light Armor
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare
Enhancements: Loot Die 1 | Recovery 1
Description: "A Black and White checkered piece of Leather Armor with a Blue Sun on the front of the Chest Piece"

Abalasster took a seat at his desk, with a new item unidentified tier 4 item in hand. This time, a chest piece. It was seemed incredibly rugged and worn, but that was to be no problem for the merchant. He got right to work mending the holes and weak spots as best as he could. Once mended, he shifted to cleaning off the chest piece. It was covered with mud and dirt and who knows what else. The task proved itself to be a grueling one, but still not difficult enough for the merchant to be turned away. 

After a days worth of effort, with cleaning and mending, Abalasster had repaired the armor to its prime condition. He noted that in its repaired state, the armor was checkered black and white, with a blue sun in the middle of the front of the chest piece. 

"The craftsmanship here is brilliant" Abalasster remarked as he adorned the armor. It was studded leather, which was light to be sure but could still block a hit if necessary. "I'll call it the Watchmen's Cuirass"

Enchantments:

Recovery and Loot Die

ID: 130574 and 130573

-320 Col

ID: 130565

BD: 9 +1

MD: 10

Abalasster: 171/220 (173/220) En 2/22 (2/22)

Beast of the Wild 6/110 (0/110)

Abalasster walked over to the Beast, which was now wheezing as it lie on the floor of the forest. Abalasster stood over it, looking into its beastly eyes.

"It was a good fight" Abalasster remarked, as his grip tightened on his rapier. The monster let out a slight groan as it looked up at Abalasster. They both knew that the beast's life was forfeit.

"You won't be troubling anyone anymore" Abalasster raised his rapier and plunged it into beast's head, killing the monster. And as the life left the beast, Abalasster took the beast's head.

"Proof for that bastard in the tavern" Abalasster spoke to himself. With his trophy of the beast, he departed the clearing, on his way back to the safety of Snowfrost...

Loot

ID:130566

LD: 11+4 (15)

CD: 9

Rare Armor/Shield

550 Col.

4 Bonus Mat.

 ID# 130564

BD: 6

MD: 9

Abalasster 194/220 (171/220) EN 2/22

Beast of the Wild 26/110 (6/110)

Abalasster decided that he would make the first move. The Beast was too incapacitated by its leg wounds to do charge at Abalasster, so he decided that if he wanted to end this Beast, he would need to do it on his terms. 

So Abalasster charged the Beast, and dodged a strike in the process. He weaved between the Beast's legs, and left four new holes in its wake. These four new strikes were enough to cause the Beast to buckle under its own weight once more, and sent the behemoth plummeting towards the ground. However, as it fell, it swung once more, knocking Abalasster far back into the snow and against a tree. The pain of the collision hurt for sure, but Abalasster climbed back up to his feet momentarily. He had gone through much worse pain. He looked over to the Beast, which was now lying on the floor of the forest.

"Let's finish this"...

 ID# 130563

BD: 3

MD: 3

Abalasster 194/220 (196/220) EN 6/22

Beast of the Wild 26/110 (26/110)

Abalasster and the Beast continued to stare each other down, with neither wanting to make a move. Abalasster continued to size up the beast. It did appear incredibly weak, and was being held together by threads, but still seemed that it could pack a punch if Abalasster made a single mistake. So, Abalasster remained in a firm defensive position, waiting for the Beast to attack.

The two continued to lie in wait, biding time for the other to attack so that the other could counter. The monster began to let out roars and shrieks, in an attempt to drive off Abalasster, but it was to no avail. 

"Scream all you want" Abalasster remarked, "I got a job to do and your standing in my way"...

ID# 130562

BD: 2+2 (4) Fail

MD: 6-1 (5)

Abalasster 192/220 (194/220) EN 6/22

Beast of the Wild 26/110 (26/110)

Abalasster and the Beast stared each other down as Abalasster raised himself out of the pile of snow that he had been knocked into. The two were now both suffering wounds. Abalasster's chest was sore due to the monster's strike against him, and the Beast was barely hanging on to life as it slowly rose to its feet. Abalasster twirled his rapier as he began to close the gap between himself and the Beast, whilst the Beast remained stationary, the pain in its legs being terribly unbearable. Abalasster took a position near the Beast, but just out of range of the Beast's strikes. 

"Alright tough guy" Abalasster began, speaking to the Beast as if it can understand him, "Lets end this right here and now"...

ID# 130561

BD: 4+2 (6)

MD: 10 

Abalasster 220/220 (192/220) EN 6/22

Beast of the Wild 46/110 (26/110)

Abalasster rushed forwards towards the monster. It was incapacitated and on its knees on the floor of the forest clearing, so this was a perfect opportunity for Abalasster to land another blow on the Beast. Abalasster ran to the Beast, and as before, let loose four strikes into the Beast, this time into its chest. The monster, who was still on its knees, let out a roar of pain, and used it arm to swat Abalasster off of it. This time however, Abalasster wasn't fast enough to get away from the Beast's strike. He was sent flying backwards, crashing into the snow. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he began to pull himself up from the forest floor.

"Alright" Abalasster mumbled to himself, "I can see that you deal a blow"...

ID# 130552

BD: 9 

MD: 4

Abalasster: 220/220 10/22 EN

Beast of the Wild: 70/110 (46/110)

Abalasster and the monster stared each other down, the monster reeling from the 8 holes that Abalasster had created in it, whilst Abalasster was untouched. The monster was now beginning to breathe heavily, whilst Abalasster was breathing just fine. 

"C'mon" Abalasster thought to himself, "just got to land a few more hits". The two continued to stare each other down, neither wanting to make the first move. Abalasster knew he had the upper hand, so he remained stationary, waiting for the monster to put itself in an even worst position.

The two stared each other down as minutes past by. That was until the Beast seemingly got impatient and rushed towards Abalasster. 

"Perfect" he thought, as he readied himself for an attack. The Beast rushed up, raising its arm and slamming it down, and just as before, Abalasster moved out of the way of the attack. This time, he sent four strikes into the Beast's legs, two into each leg. This caused the Beast to buckle, and fall to its knees.

"Alright" Abalasster thought to himself, "Final stretch"...

ID# 130551

BD: 4+2 (6)

MD: 3

Abalasster: 220/220 14/22 EN

Beast of the Wild: 90/110 (70/110)

The Beast, now enraged due to Abalasster's successful hit, decided to go the offensive. It let out a battle roar as it charged, with its large blunt arm raised. The Beast intimidated Abalasster for sure. The power behind the Beast's blows seemed like they would pack a serious punch, but Abalasster found that if he was able to move a just the right time in the Beast's attack, he could dodge to blow altogether. And so he did. Just as the Beast was about to land a crushing blow, Abalasster rolled to the side, evading the attack and putting him at an advantageous position to strike at the Beast. He peppered the monster's side with four new holes, and like before, moved away before the Beast could retaliate. It again, let out a painful cry as it slammed its arm into the ground with rage. It turned to face Abalasster, with a newfound rage in its eyes.

"Looks like I pissed him off" Abalasster thought, as he tightened his grip on his rapier...

ID# 130550

BD: 7 +2 (9)

MD:1

Abalasster 220/220 En 18/22

Beast of the Wild 110/110 (90/110)

Abalasster decided that it would be he who would make the first move in this engagement. He charged the creature, evading its attack at it slammed its lumbering around down in an attempt to crush him. With the monster's guard lowered, Abalasster moved in to attack. He made 4 precise strikes into the monster's exposed side. The beast let out a horrid cry of pain as Abalasster began the assault, and tried to attack once more in an attempt to get Abalasster away from it. Yet it was too late for the beast, for Abalasster had already moved by the time it send its lumbering arm crashing into the spot in the snow where Abalasster once stood. 

"Nice try big fella" Abalasster said as he readied himself to attack once more, "But you'll need to be quicker than that"...

Abalasster marched from the tavern out into the cold of the Fourth Floor with one thought on his mind, "Find this damn beast". Supposedly it was terrorizing the local population that traveled the roads, and whilst that wasn't much to go on, it was all Abalasster needed to begin his search. He began to set out on the road leading out of town, in hopes of finding whatever "monster" he was supposed to be looking for. 

Abalasster wandered down the road with his loyal companion Khepri by his side as the snows began to pick up. The torrent become so bad that it became near blinding, with Abalasster only being able to see a few feet in front of him. His movement was slowed as well as a result of the storm, but he continued to soldier on. The snow became so violent that Abalasster could feel his conscious slipping. Not only was he fighting the snow, but he was fighting to stay upright. Yet, as he continued to fight on both the physical and mental front, he saw something in front of him. It was just a blob at first sight, so Abalasster continued to move towards it, and as he did it began to slowly manifest itself. Abalasster could make out that the creature was brown in texture and seemed to be made out of wood, and as well had the head of an elk. 

"This must be the monster" Abalasster thought. Whilst the snow was still bombarding him, he drew his rapier shakily to face his opponent. As he did however, the beast let out a pulse which disrupted the biting frost. Abalasster found his surroundings much different from when he first embarked. He was no longer on the road, and now seemed to be in some forest clearing. However, his surroundings didn't matter. All that mattered was killing this beast...

Abalasster followed his raven-haired compatriot out of the tavern and into the great outdoors. The bright rays of the sun shone down upon the two, covering them in its radiance.

"Excellent weather for a hunt" Abalasster remarked, as he followed Nora outside of the safety of the city walls. Abalasster scanned his surroundings. These fields were a great spot to set up an ambush; plenty of high grass which hindered sight lines. He made sure to stay close to Nora, as separation could spell the doom of both of them.

All of a sudden, Abalasster spotted some rustling in the tall wheat in front of the duo. Nora too, had spotted it and had drawn her weapon. Abalasster followed suit, unsheathing his rapier and standing behind his partner.

"Let's take this fiend out" Abalasster remarked, but before he could attempt to coordinate a plan of action, Nora moved to assault the creature. The two traded blows, but neither ended up leaving a mark on the other. Abalasster saw this as his moment to attack, now that the Wasp was off-center. He moved in with his rapier, landing four precise strikes to its abdomen. The beast recoiled, and Abalasster moved back in response, slicing stalks of wheat away so that he could keep good sights on the beast. He readied into a defensive stance, awaiting the beasts next move...

ID: 130545 BD: 8

Wind Wasp 80/100 HP Dmg:30

Abalasster: HP: 210 18/22 EN; DMG 5 (x4 with sword art) ACC +2, MIT +7

@Nora 

Abalasster turned around to see a giant of a man standing up and staring at him. The way that the voice sounded, it seemed to match this individual. He began to march closer towards Abalasster, with each step seeming to shake the establishment. Once the two came face to face and Abalasster could smell the booze that was emanating from the man, he decided to speak again.

"I'll ask 'gain" he began, with contempt in his voice, "What's this 'bout Yasha". Abalasster took a drink of his water and then stood up to be closer to eye level with the man. He was still about a head taller than the silver-haired adventurer, but that didn't curb his ambition.

"I need to meet with them" Abalasster shot back confidently. The large man let out a viciously sharp laugh.

"Can't be done" he said, after he had concluded laughing. Abalasster wasn't impressed. In fact he was getting irritated. He needed to find this Yasha, and this oaf wasn't doing anything to help him.

"Do you even know where I can find Yasha" Abalasster asked.

"Oh I know where to find him alright" the large man grinned, "and it'll cost you if you want to find out"

"Name your price" Abalasster remarked, trying to get the upper hand in the situation.

"There's this beast outside of town" the giant began, "Been causing some of the folk some trouble. Kill it and I may just tell you where to find Yasha"

"Deal" Abalasster said, as he extended a hand for the man to shake. The two did so, and Abalasster made his way out of the Tavern.

"Wait" the man called, "you don't even know what it looks like"

"I'll find it" Abalasster called back, "Or die trying"...

Upon entering the tavern, Abalasster instantly wanted to leave. The putrid smell of vomit and depravity assaulted his nostrils and he was compelled to return to the fresh air that remained outside. But, if he was to get to the bottom of this mystery, he'd need to push through it. 

Abalasster continued on into the tavern, and took a seat at the bar. From what he could see, he was the only player character among the patrons.

"Good start" he thought to himself, "I should be able to pursue this on my own". He ordered a water from the bartender, and some bread for Khepri. As the bartender left to go and get Abalasster's order, he looked around the tavern at its inhabitants. The population was on the lower side, but still a decent amount inside the establishment.

"Maybe one of them knows" he thought. However, Abalasster was brought back to attention when the bartender returned with his order.

"Anything I can get ya?" they asked, sitting down the water and the bread.

"Actually" Abalasster responded, "There is something. Ever heard of someone called "Yasha?" Heard that I could find him on this floor. Before the bartender had a chance to respond, a voice called out from behind Abalasster, one that was especially cold and gruff.

"Whats this about Yasha"...

Abalasster took a sip of his water as he listened attentively to Nora describe what he and her may be getting themselves into. 

"Wasp Queen eh?" he chipped in, setting his water down upon the table. He looked down to Khepri, who was devouring the bread, as always. One would think that Abalasster starved to poor beetle with the sheer amount of furiosity that the beetle ate with. It caused him to smirk. He looked back up to Nora.

"I won't lie" he began, as he picked up his glass of water once more, "I'm not the most fond of wasps" He took another sip, and pondered Nora's proposal. 

"But" he said, quickly after he swallowed another, "This could end up be profitable, and a good bit of fun. You can count me in, and Khepri as well, for whatever he's worth" He looked down to his beetle and saw that he had looked up from his meal and given Abalasster a stern look.

"I was just teasing" he said to the beetle. He quickly turned his gaze back to Nora, as to not let her request go unanswered. "I say lets see thin the ranks first. We start at the bottom first then work our way up to fighting this queen" Abalasster took one last sip of his water before setting back down on the table for good.

"I'm ready when you are..."

(Continuation from "Once More Into the Breach")

Abalasster stepped out from the portal into the frigid village that was Snowfrost. It had been a while since he had been here, but with what the NPC in the forest had mentioned, he felt driven to come to this floor, and seek out whoever the hell this "Yasha" was. He wasn't given much to go on, only that this "Yasha" was attempting to kill this NPC, and caused them to flee to the first floor. This alone was enough to tempt his curiosity.

"What drives and NPC to leave their floor" He thought to himself, "and should that even be possible?" Maybe he happened upon some kind of side quest, or maybe it was something more sinister. Whatever it was, the facts on the table were that this NPC wanted another NPC dead, and the floor to search was the 4th floor. 

Abalasster just shook his head, "Not much to go off at all" he murmured. In his mind he thought, "Well, where does one go when they have only rumors to base things on?" And thus, he began to make his way to the tavern.

"If anyone knows anything" he thought to himself, "Its that lot"...

Abalasster was amidst cleaning his shop when he received a message from Nora. He was still in the process of getting his shop back up and running. His inventory was incredibly limited, but that's just what happens when a start up occurs. He was sweeping the floors, trying to make sure that his shop stayed pristine. But, then the message notification popped up in front of him. It was from Nora, one of the two that came to him during a dark hour of his and someone that he held in a degree of respect. He opened the message and began to read it.

"Hm, 2nd floor huh?" he thought to himself, as he set the broom down against his counter. It had been quite a bit since he had left the first floor, but here was someone requesting him. He looked over to the counter, where Khepri was.

"You want to go to the 2nd floor" Abalasster asked his friend, to which Khepri leaped with excitement. "Well that settles it" Abalasster grabbed his rapier from its stand, and had Khepri leap up onto his shoulder. He moved towards the door and was about to open it, until he got another message. He opened his inbox and saw that it too was from Nora. He opened it up and read this one as well. 

"A monster on the 2nd floor?" he thought, as he reread over her message. "Sounds like it could be fun"

Abalasster made his way out the door and headed towards the portal. He stepped inside, selected the 2nd floor, and before he knew it, the sights of the Town of Beginnings was replaced with the sight of the medieval sight of Urbus. Abalasster stepped from the portal and into the historical city. NPC's rushed to and fro, all scurrying to get to different places. The sight made Abalasster smile. He forgot how much he loved this city and its look. It was a beautiful look into the past. But, Abalasster wasn't here to admire the scenery. He moved towards the local tavern, and as he approached the door, he could here just how loud the inside is 

"Quite a spot to choose, Nora" he thought, as he pushed the door open and walked inside. He scanned the crowd, until he his raven-haired compatriot, and made his way over to her.

"Hey Nora!" Abalasster remarked as he took a seat next to her. "How have you been? It has been a bit since that tavern fiasco." Abalasster anticipated her response, whilst ordering bread for Khepri and a water for himself. Once the food had come, a new question popped into his head,

"So, tell me about this monster?"...

@Nora 

Abalasster tried to take a deep breath and calm himself down, but he was still on edge. He hadn't felt this way in a long time. 

"I'm sorry" Abalasster murmured as if he was talking to someone or someones else, but he was the only on there. He slid down against the wall until he was sitting upon the ground. His companion, Khepri, was attempting to get his attention, but Abalasster paid no mind to the scarab. He remained in a sitting position against the wall of the tavern, shaken. That was until, 2 figures appears before. 

Abalasster, who had previously been looking at the floor, looked up to find Nora and Yukiro. 

"They came after me?" He thought. He was perplexed. Why would these practically strangers come to his aid? He hardly knew them. Yet here they were, and that lifted Abalasster's spirits a bit. 

Yukiro was the first to speak, and asked " "Hey. Are you okay? You seem really shaken up."

"I-I" Abalasster started, trying to formulate a cohesive response. He stopped, and took a breath. Nothing he said would be useful if he just fumbled over his words. 

"I apologize for causing a scene" Abalasster began, "It's just something from my past. I'll get over it. But, I do greatly appreciate you both coming out here. It means a lot to me. Haven't had some care for me for a long while" 

Abalasster, now with a new-found confidence, picked himself back up off the floor. 

"I think I'll be ready to go back in here soon" Abalasster remarked, as he looked down to Khepri, who seemed to be looking at him with a mixed look of pity and happiness.

"Again, thank you both. I won't forget it"

@Yukiro

Abalasster sat down behind his desk with an Unidentified Rare Trinket that he had received in battle. The trinket was a pocket watch, and seemed to be in incredibly bad shape. It was covered in blood and soot, and seemed to have stopped ticking altogether

"Well, lets get to work" Abalasster got a cleaning rag and some cleaning oil. He began to clean the watch, making sure to remove all the blood that had gotten on it due Abalasster's battle with the boar. How the soot got there, he had no clue.

"Did the beast try to eat this thing" he thought to himself, continuing to clean the watch. It took nearly and hour, but through hard work he was able to get out all the tough spots.

"Well, that a step in the right direction." He flipped the trinket over and popped the back off. The inside was a mess, with many cogs being rusted and beyond repair.

"Well, now the fun begins" Abalasster began to muddle through his tools and spare parts, and began to restore this device. After another hour of meticulous labor, he was able to get the clock ticking again.

"Eureka!" he exclaimed, as he set it down upon his desk. This pocket watch, which had come to him decrepit and destroyed, had now been restored to its prime and pristine condition.

 ID# 128468 (Loot Found)

LD: 10+4=14

CD: 3

1 Rare Trinket, 300 Col +200 col, 2 mats 

ID: 129056 (Identification roll)

LD: 15

+2 Acc Enhancement Trinket, -320 Col

Inventory

Request Form

This afternoon had been the bane of Abalasster's existence. His shop had fallen into extreme disrepair, and his work had been set out for him. Yet, the silver haired merchant perceived. He set to work by initially repairing the roof. Many of the wooden planks had rotted and caved in and were in dire need of repair. It took quite a while, but with some hard work and the help of his ever faithful companion Khepri, he fixed the decrepit roof. Next was the shops interior. Many of the shelves had collapsed, and the display cases were in disarray. 

"Well, if we can fix the roof," Abalasster began, "we can mend some shelves" So he and Khepri set to work, and within a few hours, the two's hard work had paid off. The shelves and desks and display cases were back up and in cleanly condition. All that remained now was fixing the walls and cleaning the floor.

"I'll get the walls" Abalasster remarked, hammer and nails in hand, "You, Khepri, can take the floor" Abalasster got down to business and began removing the planks that were beyond repair and began to replace them with new wood. It took a sizable amount of time to fix them, but his efforts bore fruit. 

Yet, where he succeeded, his companion was less than fortunate. Abalasster saw as the little scarab tried to haul a boom around, and took pity on his friend.

"I'll handle it" Abalasster said with a smile, as he seized the boom from Khepri. He began to sweep the shop, and within a few more hours, the shop looked brand new. 

"Well" Abalasster began as he took a seat on the counter, "I believe this to be a day well spent". He got up from the counter and moved to the window that overlooked the city street. On the window still was a sign, one that read "closed" for the past few years. Yet, this would be no more. Abalasster seized the sign, dusted it off, and turned it over. "Open" it read, and with that a smile sprawled across Abalasster's face...

"Say something!" She barked, as she drew a dagger from behind her and pressed it to Abalasster's throat. In the confusion, Abalasster could make out that the girl was an NPC, and seemed to not be from this floor based on her attire. 

"Wait!" he said, in an attempt to calm the situation, "Let me explain myself, just drop the weapon"

"Not until you tell me who you are" she snapped, tightening her grip on the knife. "Did Yasha send you to kill me?"

"Who the hell is Yasha?" Abalasster asked. "I followed you here because you were circling the tree that I was sleeping in." The lady began to retract the knife from Abalasster's throat, but then doubled back on her decision. 

"How do I know you aren't lying" she retorted. 

"I haven't a clue who you or Yasha are!" Abalasster shouted, "I ran after you to ask why you were snooping around my resting place at night. Now, just get the hell off of me" The girl sheathed her knife and got off Abalasster. 

"I guess your right" She began to move further into the forest, away from Abalasster, who was baffled at her action.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "and who the hell is this Yasha and why is he trying to kill you?" She turned and faced Abalasster. 

"I'm running for my life from him" she began, "I figured out a secret that Yasha would like to keep secret." The stranger continued to walk further into the forest, away from Abalasster. 

"Okay, well if you won't tell me who this Yasha is, at least tell me where to find him.

"Fourth Floor" She responded, and continued to move into the forest. This time Abalasster didn't call after her. It wasn't worth it.

"Fourth floor huh, oddly specific" He thought, "But why would an NPC from the fourth floor leave? I'm gonna get to the bottom of this"...

Abalasster bent down at the entrance of the forest and looked down to the footprints left by the individual. Abalasster ran his hand over the prints. The tracks were left by some sort of boot, and didn't seem designed for the plains environment of the 1st floor. 

"This is odd" he murmured to himself. He raised up to a standing position and drew his rapier. The prints that were left were definitely left by a human, possibly a player. Abalasster began to follow the prints into the forest, and moved forward incredibly cautiously. He constantly scanned the his surroundings, checking from left to right and then back again. Periodically, he'd hear rustling come from places all around him, but it would only emit from one area at a time. 

Abalasster followed the tracks until he came to a tree, and it appeared that the individual had climbed upwards. Abalasster looked up and saw nothing but branches above him. 

"Where did you go?" he thought, as he scanned all around him as the rustling continued. He was perplexed. The rustling seemed to be coming from the forest floor, but all indication was that the individual was hiding amongst the trees. Were their multiple individuals in this forest? 

Yet, before Abalasster could attribute more thought to the individual. He felt himself tackled to the floor of the forest. As he fell, he lost grip of his rapier, causing his heart to sink to his knees. He looked up to see what had pinned him to the floor, and he saw a red-headed girl who was wearing winter clothing. 

"Why are you following me?" She barked, dumbfounding Abalasster...

"That's him!" Abalasster exclaimed as he began to move quickly down the tree. Whoever or whatever this person was, they were moving with haste towards the forest. Their pace was swift and it seemed like they may just evade him altogether. But Abalasster wouldn't let this be. He bounded down the tree, and once his feet touched the floor, he made his towards the forest. 

Abalasster, moving towards the forest, had a thought pass through his mind.

"Why am I chasing this person?" But, just as soon as the thought passed through his mind, he had a response. "They were lurking around where I was sleeping, and I need to know why" 

Abalasster kept his eyes on the stranger until they were covered in the thick of the forest. However, he wasn't too far behind. Abalasster rushed to get to the entrance of the forest. Yet, once he got their, he stopped. There was no point in rushing headlong into the forest. He could get ambushed and subdued, or worse. So he knew that his next move would need to be slow and methodical...

Abalasster's eyes shot open and he jolted up. He had no clue how long he had been sleeping, but he did know one thing, he was awakened by the sound of rushing feet and rustling leaves. He looked down from his position in the tree and saw nothing.

"Odd" the thought. Maybe it was all just in his head, or possibly it was just something that was in his dreams. But something just didn't sit right with Abalasster. He continued to scan the area, hoping to find the source of whatever had awoken him. 

From his robe pocket, Khepri emerged and crawled up to Abalasster's shoulder. His abrupt movement of waking up had startled the scarab, and caused it too to awake. It poked Abalasster in the neck, causing him to turn his attention to his friend. The scarab was visibly irritated.

"I'm sorry Khepri" Abalasster remarked, "I thought that I heard something." Abalasster, still trying to figure out the source, scanned the plains. Yet, he saw no indication that the sounds were the source of anything.

"I'm sorry Khepri" Abalasster said as he began to lie back down. "I thought I heard something" Abalasster pressed his head down against the wood, and just as he began to close his eyes he saw a figure move towards the nearby woods...