CH. 3: Guardian Mountains

[HorizonsDream]

"I don't understand why they would put themselves in that kind of danger," Echo says. "It doesn't make sense."

[JadedDM]

"It's a matter of faith," Argis replies. "Surely you can understand that, yes? Everyone believes in something, I think."

[HorizonsDream]

Echo lets out a small sigh. "If that owl was right, and this temple is as dangerous as it says it is, this could end up being a massacre."

[JadedDM]

Argis raises a brow and crosses his arms. "Owl? What's this about an owl now?" he asks.

[HorizonsDream]

"Ah, the Pharise didn't tell you or Hollidan for that matter," Echo says. "A tawny owl visited me a few nights ago and talked to me," she explains. "It said that the temple was very dangerous, and that no one has returned from it alive."

[JadedDM]

"Hmm, well we all knew it would be dangerous going into this," Argis says. "The temple has been abandoned for a long time. There's no telling what kind of evil might have found its way in there and festered."

[HorizonsDream]

"Being a paladin, a protector so to say, how can you let these people endanger their lives like this?" Echo asks. "Isn't it your job to protect them?"

[JadedDM]

"That's exactly what we're doing and why we're here, Miss Soulstaff," Argis responds. "All three of us paladins, and the clerics, as well."

[HorizonsDream]

"I'm just going in circles," Echo says, realizing she isn't proving the point she was trying to make. In the end, she decides to change the subject. "So you are the leader of the paladins here, correct?" She asks. "You seem...kind of young."

[JadedDM]

"You think so?" he asks. "I'm thirty-five, but I exercise and train regularly, so I don't feel that old. It's good to know I don't look it, either," the paladin says with a smile.

[HorizonsDream]

"You two make me feel younger than I've ever felt in my life," Echo admits. Naturally, she didn't know the age of Agris, and she honestly seems surprise upon learning his age. "I always felt like some old maid back at home," she admits.

[JadedDM]

"An old maid? Really?" Argis asks. "I'm no good with elves, so maybe you're like a thousand for all I know. But by human standards, anyway, you seem fairly young to me. Or do the people of your town just marry very young?"

[HorizonsDream]

"I'm 20," Echo explains. "But I was known as the ice queen back at home, and for some reason it always made me feel older than I was. I've gotten to the point where my mother looks like my sister."

[JadedDM]

"Well, I've always believed a person is really only as old as they feel," Argis says. "Although my body doesn't always agree, especially when I first get up in the morning," he admits.

[HorizonsDream]

"How did you become a paladin?" Echo asks curiously. "And how did you come to join the Brotherhood?"