"So, what's with this currency in the world? What is it, exactly?"
Gath's right brow lifts, slightly.
"It's a coin called Vulos, named after our God of Time. Here, take these."
Two humble coins clinks onto the table, one a shining bronze, the other a shimmering silver. Adrian's fingers soon rub over them both as he slides them into whatever pocket available on his suit.
"I appreciate it. I assume that there is one more coin type?"
Gath taps the floor with his cane once.
"Indeed, my boy!" His wrinkly finger wags towards Adrian.
"You are quite perceptive!"
He smirks, and waits for Gath to continue. Gath's brows raise.
"Hoho, making an old man work harder than he has to I see."
He sighs, and looks out the back window.
"That tower out there? We call that the Sanctuary."
Adrian turns his head, noticing the daunting obsidian tower, with a thick base that slowly thins out. It's a decent distance away. His hand clasps his chin.
"Looks like a ten minute walk, if you ask me."
Gath nods. "Aye, sounds about right. It's beautiful. Built by that Adoldno guy...or was it Adonis? I think it was..."
Adrian's blood runs cold.
Then, he lifts out of his seat, the chair making a loud screech behind him.
"A-Adonis?! Are you sure?!" His hands slam the table.
Gath humbly smiles once more.
"Sit down, young man."
Adrian's heart races. Five wasted years of nothing. No proof—or leads, for that matter, and now he has one potential tie. Right here, through Gath.
"Sit down?! How could I! T-that's my brother!"
Gath's left eye opens, and he tilts his head back to Adrian. A sickening aura surrounds and suffocates him, his hands grabbing at his throat.
"Sit down, I said." Gath's eye stares directly into his soul, and he feels compelled to sit back in his seat.
"Wha...What the hell? What was that Gath!?"
Gradually, the aura subsides, and Gath shakes his head, putting on a gentle smile.
"Ahem. As I was saying, that man created the sanctuary for us to store our gold Vulos, and as a last line of defense."
He grips his cane with white knuckles, despite his old age.
"Unfortunately, he forgot to mention that we can't get inside without some sort of relic he had, and now we are locked out of wealth. Not only that, but it used to protect us. The damned thing started acting up the past couple of days, though." Gath puts on a solemn look, and the system appears in front of Adrian—unprompted.
[Scanning....]
[Familiar Essence Signature Nearby...840 meters northeast! O_O]
He blinked, then glanced back at Gath. "Well, I'll figure out someway to pay you Gath, don't worry."
Gath dismisses the thought with a simple wave of the hand.
"Don't even think about paying me." His brows raise subtly, and his eyes soften.
"If you really wish to repay me, you should start by trying to defend Penshaw. But of course, you don't have to! Hohoho."
Adrian flails his hands, as if he's warding off some invisible attack.
"B-but why don't you! Clearly you're more than powerful!"
Gath shakes his head. "No, no, that's not for me, I assure you. Not anymore."
He taps the floor with his cane, twice.
"Well. What do you say? Will you defend our little village?" He grooms his beard, a brow raised in Adrian's direction.
Adrian's leg shakes under the table. "I—surely it can't be that hard, right?"
Gath has a hearty chuckle, and then clears his throat.
"Well, one could say that, yes. Absolutely."
Adrian opens his mouth to respond back, but the system flashes in front of him.
[⚠️Warning! Warning! Warning!⚠️]
[Veilborn wave incoming! Approximately...twenty minutes! Threat level: Low]
[Prepare for combat IMMEDIATELY!!!(＃°Д°)]
"Shit! Gath—" He glances back at Gath.
His brows are raised at Adrian's demeanor.
"What is it my boy?"
Adrian jerks back his chair, a cold sweat running down his face.
"What...what are Veilborn?"
Gath's eyes open wide. He shakes his head as his hand finds his beard once more. "Veilborn...well. Veilborn are the creatures who come from the veil in between the realms, or so we believe. Those vile, corrupt creatures are blights upon this world."
Gath's handle on the cane appears to shake slightly. A branch breaks off of a tree outside with a loud crack.
"Those monsters appear in the last few days of every Luna Cycle, and, well...they're not pretty, that's for sure."
The system blares at Adrian before he can get another word out.
[ADRIAN!!! PLEASE STOP ASKING QUESTIONS AND GET MOVING!╰（‵□′）╯]
[Approximately fifteen minutes until arrival! Direction...northeast!]
"What if they were to approach right now?"
Gath launches his feeble bones up out of his seat.
"Fifteen minutes? That's not possible! They only appear at mid—"
"They're coming, Gath, I assure you! Whatever it is, it's fast."
Gath shuffles over to the chest in the far back corner of the room, pulling out a worn sword that somehow still has it's edge. "It's dangerous to go alone. Take this."
He offers the blade by the hilt.
"You seriously want me to go out there? I have zero clue how to fight!" He backpedals towards the door, eyes wide.
Gath lets out a whimsical chuckle, and then his eyes narrow, devoid of all humor.
"Watch carefully."
Gath lines up into a professional stance, back straightened out and sword in hand, as if he's done this a thousand times. He swings left to right with cold, calculated precision, and then hands it to Adrian, smiling.
"You try."
Adrian mocks the same style of Gath, and swings the sword left and right, but immediately notices the huge difference. The sword is too heavy, his legs are too stiff, and his wrist hurts. But somehow Gath could do it perfectly.
He stifles a laugh at Adrian's clumsy swings, and his voice turns instructional. "You want to two hand it, son. It's a heavy sword, and frankly, your weak in the arms. But you'll get the hang of it."
Adrian two hands it this time, still clunky and heavily unpolished, but the sword properly swings this time, and it's not incredibly slow. Smoke floods in through the chimney as the wind direction changes.
"Like that...?"
The system appears even closer to his face than last time.
[GO ADRIAN! GO!!(╬▔皿▔)╯ Five minutes until arrival!]
Adrian hurries to the door, and is slammed in the face by it, causing a loud 'CRACK' to be heard as it collides with his temple.
"OW! FU-" He rubs his face, and a voice comes through the half cracked door.
"Elder! Veilborn spotted approaching the Sanctuary! What should we do?"
Both of The Elder's hands shake on his cane. "Mira? I see."
His left hand caresses his temple, and then makes an outward gesture towards the door. "We must send any willing male! Urge all volunteer townsfolk to the Sanctuary!"
Adrian hustles out the door past the red haired Mira, and the community well. He follows the concrete path until it reaches the side of a hill, and the rocks eventually disappear, leaving him with just grass. He traverses to the Sanctuary as the overlayed panel floats in front of him, a crow cawing as he sprints the difficult terrain. Almost as if signaling the dread ahead.
[59...58...57...56...5 seconds remain! HURRY!]
As he finally makes it down the hill next to the strikingly tall obsidian tower, he sees a pack of creatures that is coming up the base of the hill, rapidly. His blood freezes, and the sword shakes in his hand.
They resemble wolves twisted in shadow with fur that swallows light, except for the persistent and cruel white luminescence glowing off their backs. They have deep red eyes that beg for blood and bodies, and their claws look freshly dipped in blood. They're hungry, and they're hungry now.
"I have to fight...that?"