Deep in the heart of the Frozen Wastelands...
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?!" a figure, shivering in the blizzard shouted. The layers upon layers of furs and heavy leather doing almost nothing to keep out the cold, his voice was occasionally broken by the chattering of his own teeth. Another figure, bigger and burlier than the one that spoke, bellowed back, "Aye! I am sure of it. A Wayfinder is never wrong!" then barked out a laugh, and continued trudging onward in the deep snow. The first muttered a brief curse, shrinking even further underneath the pelting snow. A feminine hand reached out from behind him, planting itself firmly on his shoulder. "Chin up, Mio. At least if anything it stalking us, it probably won't be able to see us!" Mio turned around and glared at the slender young woman behind him. "Don't give me that! Your fire magic is keeping you warm! If you were as open to the elements as I am, you'd be as miserable as me, Kaga!" She winked and stepped lightly past him, her boots of FeatherLight keeping her feet from sinking into the snow.
"Learn a bit of fire magic then, dingus. It isn't that hard!" Kaga spun on her heel and stuck her tongue out. Mio held up a hand "Says the protege! Magic comes so easily for you, that even the High Scholar and Master Wizard treat you like a golden child!" He then started to rub his chin thoughtfully, before continuing "And this blizzard is worse for me than anything else here! I'm an Archer!" Mio threw up his hands "But how am I supposed to do my job with this bloody blizzard! Ohhh, I hope I don't regret this little expedition, Kaga!" As Kaga started to laugh, their bigger compatriot held up a fist "Quiet! We've arrived."
Kaga lightly bounded up beside him, while Mio slipped and stumbled before flopping down in a huff just behind the two. Kaga whistled appreciatively as she stared at their destination "You've really outdone yourself this time, Arlo! Earned your keep, as usual!" Arlo beamed back at her, his smile snaggle-toothed but earnest "I am most happy to hear those words! Especially the 'earned your keep' bit!" As Arlo let loose another deep laugh, Mio shuffled awkwardly beside them. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Kaga? Even I don't need to be a Wizard to feel all that excess magic oozing out of that place. It gives me the creeps." Mio shuddered, his eyes having trouble focusing on the sight below. Kaga simply scoffed, blinking out the snow, "Oh come on! It's not like there are any Korbloxians around to stop us! Not anymore anyway." Her eyes then alighted upon her target, and a look of longing glazed her eyes. "And besides, it's not every day we get to visit the site where some of the most powerful of their number died!" Motioning for the rest to follow her, Kaga carefully started to climb down from their outcropping into the Ravine below.
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
Four weeks prior...
▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰
"Nope. No way, no how." Mio crossed his arms and looked away dismissively from the table. "Come oooooooonnnn! You know how much valuable research could be done at that ravine?" Kaga leaned forward in her chair, wobbling unsteadily as her weight shifted. Arlo ate silently, though there was humor in his eyes as he watched the two argue. The other patrons of the tavern they were staying at were ignoring them, used to their antics after ten years of listening to their bickering whenever they'd order food and drink. Kaga stretched her neck out, giving Mio an intense stare as she eyed him up and down.
Mio couldn't be described as handsome or athletic, much like a stick can't really be compared to the handle of a sword. One is rugged and sturdy, while the other is fragile and frail. Mio was born scrawny, and he never seemed to grow out of this label. All his peers picked on him relentlessly for his size, and he seemed unable to defend himself. However, Mio eventually taught himself to notice "tells" in the others, mannerisms that would alert him when someone was about to pick on him. After some time, Mio would run away from the bullies before they even knew they wanted to bully him. And as time passed, while others would beef up their bodies to swing swords and axes as hard as they could, Mio trained his eyes even further in conjunction to an old bow he saved up and bought. "Why fight up close when I can bean someone a mile away?" he would say as his would-be attackers lay panting in the dust, having never gotten close to Mio as he pelted them with a barrage of blunted arrows. Mio fled his hometown after it was over-run by Korbloxian ghouls: fiends that feast upon the blood of their victims, and made his way to the Astral Isles, where he met Kaga. The two have been inseparable ever since.
