Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 3: The Glades Rejoice

It was certainly a shock to everyone in Niwen, seeing the kind hero who saved their forest suddenly come back without any precedent. Despite the surprise, none of them could be more happy to see Ori come back to life, as practically everyone in the Wellspring Glades started a celebration in his honor. It was a little startling for Ori, but he knew he was a great hero to many people, at least from what he was told.

Ori's celebration started out great... with an ambush of young moki rushing him, all excited to see the hero of their forest return. Immediately, they bombarded him with questions...

"How was it being the Spirit Willow!? Must have been so cool!"

"H-How did you defeat Mora? I-I'd never have the courage to even stand in front of that giant spider."

"We felt that battle at Willow's End from down here. It must have been quite the fight between you and that bird."

"Was it boring in the Willow? It must have been sad, not being able to run around the forest you saved."

"A-Are you hungry? I-I'll go get you some food!"

Ori didn't know anything they were talking about, but seeing the giddy moki all praising his supposed feats made him... flattered. We're the things they were saying true? He certainly couldn't deny it, so he just assumed that they were true. Because of that, he realized how brave of man he truly was, a being who had slain great beasts, overcome perilous obstacles, and showed empathy and kindness to many kinds of folk.

Seeing that Ori and Ku were occupied with the moki's onslaught of praise, Naru and Gumo both ran off with a couple of the adults to start preparing some food for the inevitable feast in the glades. They just hoped that Ori didn't get overwhelmed by all the questions badgering his amnesiac mind.

As Ori and Ku kept chatting with the moki, two new people came walking towards them, attracting Ori's attention. The spirit saw the first of these two, a decently muscular and stoic man, dark charcoal skin with white hair and a white beard, a makeshift hammer in his hand. The other figure was much less imposing, a thin, cyan-colored bird with a large beak and a small satchel on his back, looking down on the spirit with a moderately impressed smirk.

"If it isn't the savior of Niwen himself," the bird spoke with a laugh. "I'm pleased to see you alive and well. How are you feeling, Ori?"

"Uh... a-alright, but... um... I-I'm sorry. M-My memories are a little... j-jumbled up at the moment" Ori muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wh... Who are you?"

"Oh... unfortunate. My name is Tokk. A pleasure to meet you again."

"It's nice to see you too, Tokk," he smiled softly, turning towards the other, more masculine figure. "And you are?"

"I am Grom, a Gorlek and crafter of these glades."

"You built this village?"

"Well... other people built it, but I certainly make sure it doesn't crumble. I mostly have you to thank for that, bringing me all of that ore."

"Oh... well, I'm... glad I could be of assistance."

"These Glades are the people's sanctuary in Niwen," Grom continued. "Because of what you did, these Glades have been the center of harmony for us, and I'm sure none of us could thank you enough for your heroism. But I'll admit, since the days of the Decay have passed, I've been swamped with a lot of construction jobs from the people around. It's a lot, but Gumo's been able to assist me for most of them."

Gumo's a builder? Eh, he seems like the type. "Well, I'm sure he's happy to help you out where he caAAH-!?" His sentence was cut short by a sharp yelp, feeling a quick prod on his lower hip. Turning around, he found a group of moki behind him, all chatting with one another. But the source of the poke came from one moki in particular, one that was a little taller than him, just a bit more chubby than him, and carrying a small pouch around his waist and a small twig in his hand, holding it like a shortsword. The moki laughed at the spirit's quiet squeal as the prodder put the twig on the ground.