Project cosmos: The Golden Ring

Latona's Weird Uncle Comes To Visit

Latona's uncle was wearing a black leather jacket, stained with... I couldn't really tell. He had an overgrown beard, but no hair on the top of his head.  His dark jeans were torn at the knees. And he smelled worse than the cave. The only thing worse than that, was his raspy voice. It sent chills down my spine. It just made this all the more unsettling.
"Can I leave?" I asked.
"Now why would you want to do that?" the death god, Clay, asked in response.
"I just realized I want no part in this," I said, directing my eyes to the floor.
"Please treat our guest politely, Isabelle," Cole advised.
"OUR? You summoned him! And I'd still technically be your guest anyway!"
I glanced at Mark.
Go get Latona and Travis... I mouthed out. He understood every word. He immediately left to get our friends.
"Where might the boy be going?" Clay asked.
"To get someone," I replied, not wanting to tell him who it was.
"And why would that be?"
"Do you truly care?"
"No, not really,"
"Then why ask?"
"Isabelle! Be polite!" Cole yelled.
"Kid, this is not your conversation," Clay scowled. I could see what the stories meant by him being 'ruthless yet kind'. That death-glare of his, was almost as bad as Sandy's. Not quite as scary though.
Just as Cole was about to say something back, Mark returned with Latona and Travis. Latona was scared, but Travis was protecting her. I could tell she felt safe around him. It was really sweet seeing a new relationship blossoming before my eyes. It almost took my mind off Clay for a while.
"Latona. Daughter of Chayla," Clay said in a much more raspy voice.
"Y...yes?" Latona stumbled over her words.
"What brings you here?"
"Just a quest..."
"Like you'd be any help on a quest! My sister's children were never known for being fighters!"
"Leave her alone," Travis pulled Latona closer to his side. I took Shiru from its harness.
"Cole, why did you summon this idiot?" I pointing the sword to the death god.
"He's the only guy I know that can give decent advice, other than my father," Cole explained.
"Then why not summon your father instead?"
"I... I uh.... I don't know how yet..."
"That's sad. You're poor father must be so sad that his own son can't figure out a simple summoning spell!" Clay joked.
"To be honest, I think spells would be more geared towards Isabelle," Mark added.
"Good point!" I smiled. I liked using magic. And if I could use it to get rid of this weirdo, he'd be gone before I'd be able to blink.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Clay demanded.
"I guess the stories really were wrong! They said you'd be at least somewhat clever!" I said. "My name is Isabelle Lunette. Daughter of the magic goddess, Ivory,"
"I heard that Ivory only had one kid. That must be you. I remember Rodinia saying she was a complete mess!" Clay laughed.
"Don't trash talk my sister like that," I mumbled, tightening my grip on Shiru.
"Ya, that's not cool," Mark shook his head.
"Sister?" Clay asked. Clearly he hadn't gone to the last family reunion.
"Isabelle is Ivory's second kid. And you don't want to make her mad," Latona warned him. "That sword of hers can do some pretty nasty things,"
"Thanks, Latona," I told my friend.
"Can we just get to the advice part?" Cole asked. He was starting to get impatient. It almost made him look like he wanted to leave as well.
"Fine. If you really needed my help this time," Clay sighed.
"Isabelle, if you have any questions, go ahead,"
"Alright, let's see..." I had to think a bit. Then I remembered a section from the prophecy.
'they shall find a ring of gold'
"The prophecy said that we were supposed to find a ring of gold. You know anything about that?" I asked.
"I might. It could be the Mienai. No one knows were it is though," Clay explained.
"Great. Now we're looking for a bracelet that's hiding from everyone. This quest just keeps getting better and better!" I said sarcastically. "How are we supposed to find it?"
"I can't tell you that. This is your quest, after all,"
"Cole, I think we're done,"
"Are you sure?" Cole asked.
"Yes."
"Okay then. Clay, you can leave now,"
Clay didn't say anything. He just disappeared, as if he were made of air.
"You guys should go get ready to leave. If you need to find something like the Mienai, you won't want to waste any time," Cole explained.
"Sounds good to me," Mark said.
"You good now?" I asked Latona. She was still by Travis, who still had his arm around her.
"Ya, I'm okay. I'm just glad that guy is gone. He sends me a bad message," Latona laughed.
"Well, that would make sense. Wouldn't he technically be your uncle?" I asked.
"I guess so. I mean, if he is my mom's twin brother, he would be, but a lot of family relationships in mythology don't make any sense,"
"Most definitely!" Travis laughed.
After all that, we decided to go to bed, even though it was just a little past noon. We had a big trip ahead of us. We needed to search farther, and we couldn't do that by staying at some camp in the middle of nowhere.

THE NEXT DAY...
When we woke up, the air was hot. It was at least 90° out. I felt like I was melting from the inside out. Travis, on the other hand, was enjoying it. What am I thinking... I'd be surprised if he didn't! After all, he is a son of Saffron. Summer is his time of year.
"So, you guys are leaving?" Cole asked. We were all standing outside of the cabin with our bags.
"Ya. We need to search for this golden ring. According to Siv, we only have this summer to do it," I explained.
"That makes sense,"
"Sorry we couldn't stay longer," Latona said, trying to comfort Cole. He was definitely sad. It was easy to see that he liked having us around.
"Don't worry! We'll come visit sometime after the quest, I promise!" Latona continued. Cole smiled.
"Thank you," he said.
I stepped onto the dirt path. It was dried up now. It almost looked... sad... Just like the rest of the camp. The baking heat dried everything up. The mood this place set for us was not good. But then that all stopped when Stevie and Tommy once again entered the picture.
"You're so stupid, Stevie! Can't you see that odd numbers are better?" Tommy yelled.
"No! You're wrong! Even numbers are WAY better!" Stevie yelled back.
"Where's your proof?"
"They can easily be divided into equal groups!"
"So? Odd numbers have an exact middle!"
"Cole! Even numbers are better! Right?"
Both the boys looked at Cole.
"In my personal opinion, fractions are the best," Cole explained.
The boys looked disappointed.
"I thought you were smart!" Stevie sighed.
"Ya! You can't just go and make up fake numbers!" Tommy said.
"But they're not fake!" Cole cried. "Isabelle! Back me up!"
"You're asking the wrong person. I failed every math class I've been in," I laughed.
"She's not joking. She really does suck at math," Latona said.
Cole, Stevie, and Tommy looked at me. Now they all looked disappointed.
"You know what, I think it's time to go," Mark saved me from the awkwardness. He flung his backpack over his shoulder and waved to the boys. "See you guys some other time!"
"Please don't leave!" Cole cried.
"I'm sorry, but we have to. And don't forget that you told us to get ready to leave!" I said.
Stevie grabbed my leg.
"No. You're not leaving!" he cried.
"Stevie, I have to. Like Latona said, we'll come back," I sighed and shook Stevie off of me.
And with that, we left the camp. None of us really knew if we'd come back. We didn't look to see Cole, Steive, and Tommy. It was time to officially start our quest.