The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

Old-fashioned

     Neither Florence, nor Quentin could see what was wrong at first, not until the trees down by the waterside began to move. Florence couldn't believe her eyes and she gave them a rub, hoping it was a trick of the light- it wasn't. She stared at the figures who were now emerging from the trees, lilac skin glistening in the reflected light from the lake.

    The lack of hair made their bodies look almost skeletal and their dark green eyes bulged from their rounded, oddly shaped heads. The closer they came, the more Florence noticed how tall and thin they were, no part of them was wider than Florence's arms together. They weren't Thiean that was for sure, these creatures were something else entirely. 

    Friend or foe it wasn't clear yet, but they were unlike anything Florence had ever seen before. Her body tensed as she watched them, ready for what might happen next. The figures walked until they were a few feet away and then stopped, there must have been at least fifteen of them, all different heights but all much taller than Quentin. 

    They began to speak in high voices, all at once but none of it was in a language Florence understood. She and Quentin looked at each other with a shared expression of confusion. When they didn't respond to the creatures, they fell silent and shuffled a little closer. 

The cats hissed loudly, which successfully stopped the creatures in their tracks. 

The creatures lowered their heads down towards the cats and one of those in the middle spoke again, this time it was as though they were talking to the cats. 

    Florence watched with a frown, the cats kept hissing in response and looked ready to attack at any moment. Florence knew she had to intervene so they could understand what was happening and hopefully get underway again. 

"Excuse me? Hello?" 

    The creature talking to the cats, straightened up and looked down at Florence with a wide, unblinking stare. It turned to its companions and then back to her, chewing on its lip-less mouth for a moment until it splayed its large hands out in front of it. 

"Hello." 

    Florence and Quentin shared a surprised glance, Quentin gestured to her and shrugged, apparently she was taking the lead on this one. 

"Hello, you speak Thiean?" 

The creature chewed its mouth again before speaking, "We do, you do not." 

    Florence was confused, "This is Thiean I'm speaking now." 

"No, we speak the original Thiean dialect... you speak a newer, unsophisticated branch." 

That didn't clear anything up but Florence wasn't about to argue. "Alright then, can you tell me who you are and what you want?" 

    The creature turned to its companions, speaking in the language it used before, they responded collectively and then it turned back to face Florence. 

"We are Eckreons, we have lived here for what you would call centuries, since Esothiea was young... we do not require anything except to tell you not to pursue the Orb of Tilgh." 

    Florence and Quentin stared in astonishment, these creatures knew about the Orb and Florence suspected they knew what her quest was too. She had to know what the issue was, this was the first time she'd heard anyone tell her not to do it or not want some part in it. 

"Why would you say that?" She asked cautiously. 

    The Eckreon chewed its mouth a little longer this time. "The Orb is dangerous and it is lost somewhere, it should stay that way. You are the only one who could find it, however you will put everyone at risk if you continue on this quest."