Portal!

[Rashiel]

"That's fine." She laughed. "I'd rather deal with your old fashioned father rather than my own... At the very least, he's likely to be friendly and act alive."

[Chris Strongheart]

: "Sounds like your father needs a reality check," Brian said, starting to kiss her neck again. Oh, yes, it was official, Brian Neville-Smythe was definitely in love with this woman.

meanwhile downstairs:

: Peter glanced over at Sky. "You okay?" he asked quietly. He worried about the young dragon.

[Sky]

"I'm fine. Really."

Sky turned his head away from Sir Peter, not wanting to reveal that he really wasn't okay. Chris's step-father had enough on his mind to be worried about him too.

But the thing was that it just didn't feel right to be here. In fact, the whole idea of being in this realm as a dragon about to go on a quest in which he may or may not be successful was overwhelming to Sky.

[Chris Strongheart]

: Peter understood fully what Sky was going through. It wasn't that long ago that he was in Sky's place - leading a quest, one that he really knew nothing about. It wasn't until the end of the quest did he realize why Antiquity chose him - a man of logic and the truth to battle a spellcaster thick with illusions. He'd watch Sky during the quest and offer him whatever guidance he could.

: Carolinus closed his eyes. "You will be battling a variety of enemies. But, from what I can tell from all of you assembled, you shall do well." His eyes rested on the dragon. There was something different about the way Gorbash carried himself, it wasn't at all like when Gorbash was merged with Sir Peter. He only hoped that Antiquity had known what it was doing when it selected whoever got merged with Gorbash.

"The first, most likely, will be Ommadon's ogre," he said. He held the dragon's gaze for a long moment. "Sir Peter will instruct you on the fine art of fighting ogres when the case arises." He paused a moment, his voice faltering when he spoke again. "Normally it would have been sand merks, but you've already fought them..."

[Sky]

Sky listened carefully to Carolinus's words. It was obvious that the man was as sagacious as they came, and Sky had the feeling that his words would be of the utmost importance later on.

Still, he had couldn't shake off the feeling that there had been some kind of mistake. Sure, Sky knew that he was a prince and a Specialist, or "hero," but he hardly thought that qualified him for such a position as this. This quest was something he never thought he would have to deal with and now that he was here, all he wanted to do was close his eyes, sleep, and pretend that he was back at Red Fountain, preparing for the day's classes.

Never one to show his fear, Sky shook off his apprehension and squared his chin, lifting it in an almost arrogant manner. As far as he was concerned, it was better to appear overly confident than afraid.

[Chris Strongheart]

: "After you fight the ogre, it will be the Worm of Sliggoth," Carolinus said. "The only weakness it has is fire. If you cut it with a sword, you will be fighting not only the original worm but whatever number of worms it spawns." He shook his head slightly. "Ommadon will not make this easy for you. He'll send a cloud or something of that nature to make you doubt yourself, the quest, anything. The Golden Shield will be your saving grace." He paused again.

[Sky]

"So if this worm's weakness is fire, doesn't that mean all I have to do is breathe on it?" Sky scratched his head; this seemed too simple. Surely he had to be missing something. But maybe he had just been underestimating himself . . .

Feeling his confidence grow, Sky almost chuckled. This quest was starting to look like a walk in the park. It would only be a matter of time before things were back to normal.

[Chris Strongheart]

: "You have to go through an ogre before you can take on the worm, and the ogre isn't a walk in the park. Last time I fought him, I found out what an accordian goes through. Nearly broke a few ribs," Peter said.

: Carolinus cleared his throat. "You'll have a flight of dragons to take on next. Luck will be with you - the flute should put them all to sleep," Carolinus said. "Then it'll be Ommadon. Logic, science and the truth are his weakness. But... In order to defeat him..."

: "Whoever ends up fighting him will have to deny all magic," Peter finished.

[Sky]

Sky laughed heartily, as his body shook from what he interpreted to be a hilarious joke. "Deny all magic? That's funny!" Shaking his head, his shoulders still quivering from his mirth, Sky added, forgetting formalities, "Come on now, be serious - how do I really defeat this Ommadon guy?"

[Chris Strongheart]

: Peter gave Sky a withered look. "We are being serious. That's how I defeated him. That's why Antiquity chose me. I was the Truth to his Lies," he said. "And don't think I was thrilled to deny all magic. Denying that meant I was never going to see Melisande again. Never going to see the ones who became my dearest friends again. It was only luck that I'm able to be here now."

[Musa]

Musa was a bit late, or maybe even very late. When she arrived, she noticed that she was alone.

Musa wondered where, and how she could find the others.

Maybe it would be better for her to keep walking? But try not going too far, in order to don't get lost on a place that she was visiting for the first time?

Maybe she should stay there, just in case of someone else arriving? And what if she was the last one to arrive there?

The musical faery sighed, still wondering where the others could be.

OOC:I had to edit this post because somehow I managed to write where instead of were... And then were instead of where. I thought that writing restaurant instead of restroom would be my last weird mistake, but I was wrong.

[Sky]

Sky felt his legs tremble slightly, at the serious tone of voice Sir Peter had used. Suddenly, his fear had returned and was coursing through his body.

"What do you mean by 'luck'?" Sky demanded. "Are you saying that by going on this quest I might not make it back? I might not ever be able to see my parents again? Or my friends? Or Bloom? Are you saying that I'm going to have to rely on this 'luck' to determine whether or not I'll lose my loved ones? Because if so, I'll take no part in this quest!"

[Chris Strongheart]

: "Then go poke your head upstairs into my stepdaughter's room and tell that because you lack the courage to not only free yourself that you lack the courage to free her. What kind of hero are you?" Peter asked, allowing all the anger and bitterness to bubble free. "You certianly aren't the paragon of virtue and heroism that my daughter painted you to be."

[Sky]

"Hey now - that isn't fair" Sky shouted angrily, feeling his temper quickly slipping out of his control. "Look, I know this situation is difficult and I know that Chris doesn't deserve to be in her condition, but I don't deserve to be in mine either! Do you think I asked for this? Do you think I wanted this? Because if you do, you're wrong! I have a life, you know. A life that is filled with people who need me. I can't just go out on some quest filled with monsters that might end up killing me. What would happen to my loved ones? Did you ever think about that? Did you ever think that you'd be putting my parents in the same situation that you're in? But at least you'll be happy, right? Oh, and hey - at least I'll have been a hero! Not! If your definition of a hero is someone who goes running around, making big decisions without thinking, than no, no I am not a hero. But I'm smart. I'm smart enough to know that as much as I hate seeing Chris in the condition she's in, I can't just sacrifice myself!"

[Chris Strongheart]

: Melisande, silent until now, had enough. She slammed her hands down on the table and glared at both men - er man and dragon. "That's enough!" she cried, tears spilling down her face. "Can't you put your differences aside for a few minutes? Sky, Peter, please." Melisande's shoulders shook. "Please, I don't care how it's done, or who does it, but please, someone help my only child. Please." She fell silent and continued to cry.