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The Sins We Carry

Entry 3: Apathy

From where we last left off, Solrent and Rex had an argument with each other. Rex's anger towards Solrent's nonchalant attitude about what occurred in the cave caused him to consider disbanding their party. However, Rex soon encountered Spessart, disguised as the owner of a brothel. Rex succumbed to his inner fury and allowed Spessart to take care of it. Solrent, with the help of sister Athena, rescued Rex from Spessart, and defeated him. With the collection of two stones, our adventurers learn that these stones seem more than just simple keys.

Upon returning to the guild, Solrent and Rex spoke with Faladiel, informing him that they obtained the second stone, the spessartine. Faladiel was excited for them, congratulating the team on their success thus far. Solrent and Rex thanked Faladiel, but asked for some time off before they pursued the next gemstone. The last two events proved a huge toll on both of their bodies. Faladiel understood and told them that he will be here whenever they would like to pursue the next gemstone. Solrent and Rex headed upstairs to their rooms, freshened up, and took a long rest for the remainder of the day.

*****After a few days has passed*****

Solrent slowly rose from his bed, shifting gingerly and yawning loudly into the room. He looked over at his partner, Rex, slowly rising as well. They both stared at each other, smiling as the sun shined brightly into their room.

"Mmm..morning Rex. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm doing alright Sol. I am glad we took the last few days off and just rested."

"Yeah, we needed to recharge after all that happened the last week or so. You had your stuff, and I had mine, which I sincerely apologize for."

"I understand Sol, don't worry. I accept your apology, now come here," Rex approached Solrent and gave him a hug.

Solrent returned the favor, hugging his companion tightly and rubbing his head. "I do love your hugs. That is one of my favorite things about you, besides your cooking," Solrent said teasingly.

Rex shook his head and jokingly responded, "Uh huh, and nothing else? Jerk! But your humor is something that brightens up my day. Anyway..." Rex reached into his pocket and brought out the spessartine. "Sol, when you hold your stone, do you feel anything...like off? I mean, when I hold mine, I feel a weird course of energy flowing into me. But when I hold yours, nothing."

"I think I know what you mean." Solrent reached into his pocket and took out his ruby. As he held it in his hand, the warm, fuzzy feeling flowed through Solrent's body. Yet, his feelings for Rex remained unchanged, not feeling the influence he had the first time he held it. "To be quite frank, I do feel something inside of me Rex. It's like it amplifies a part of my personality. However, it doesn't hinder me nor harm me in any way. Like, when I look at you, I don't have those thoughts I had before...you know...the one in the cave..." Solrent turned his head away from Rex.

Rex patted Solrent on his shoulder, holding tightly onto his stone. The spessartine pulsed, a flow of energy coursing through Rex as well. The feelings of his emotions, his anger, swelled within him, but Rex showed no animosity towards Solrent. Rather, he felt more calm and understanding. "Hey. Don't worry about that. That is water under the bridge. We both went through some trials on our own and we made it through. When I hold my stone, I feel the waves of anger flowing through me, but it's not directed at you Sol. Not like before at least. I feel this power within me will actually help me instead. I'm not entirely sure, but I know I can use it for good."

"Hmmm...I feel the same as well. But, maybe we should go visit Athena. She may know something about these gemstones as well. We could ask Faladiel, but he has not been as helpful as we wanted."

"That sounds like a good idea Sol, Athena could know something about these stones. Let's head on out and seek her advice."

Solrent and Rex prepared themselves to head over to the church. They don their attire, Solrent with his armor and Rex with his bardic clothing. The party descended down the stairs and left through the door in the main lobby. Along the way, Solrent and Rex discussed how they should approach the next set of brothers. Only five remain, and they both believe each of them will be a trial on its own. "Hey Rex, the first two brothers did not seem so bad, but they proved quite the challenge. I only wonder what the other five will be like."

"Hmm...if I had to take a guess at it, I believe they each will test us to our utmost abilities. Like, how the first one affected you the most, and the last one me, I think we will each have more trials ahead of us."

Solrent moaned in disgust. "Ugh, I am not looking forward to that. I'm really tired after the first one, and the second one also made me feel exhausted, a bit apathetic at times, you know."

"Yeah, I know what you mean Sol. But luckily, Athena may have some answers for us. Look, there she is right there, let's go." Rex pointed to Athena as they approached the church. Athena waved back and stood with her hands on her hips.

Once the duo approached Athena, Solrent said, "Hello Athena. How are you today? And how goes the investigation?"

"Hello there, Solrent. Hello Rex. I'm doing alright. Was a lot of work to be done at the brothel. Well...I wouldn't say it was a brothel. It was more like a rundown building that Spessart happened to inhabit and lure his guests too. Luckily, we managed to talk to those guests and they had no recollection of what happened. They are slowly recovering as we speak, so I would say that your mission was a success." Athena gave a thumbs up and applauded the two.

Rex blushed in embarrassment and said, "Oh, no need to thank us for that, Athena. I mean, both you and Sol did all of the work. I was a bit useless there."

Athena placed her hand on Rex's shoulder. "Naw, you were consequential in this Rex. Lucky for you, you did not entirely succumb to your rage, and Sol was able to rescue you in the nick of time too."

Solrent stepped in and said, "No Athena, if it was not for you, I would have lost to him. You are very strong and helpful as well."

Athena nodded her head and said, "I thank you for that compliment, Solrent. I am just doing my part and helping out a friend in need. Anyways, what brings you two here today?"

"Rex and I are wondering if you have any ideas about the history of these gemstones. Like, we were told by Faladiel to retrieve these gems and that they can be used to open the portal to the Mad King's home."

Athena placed her hand to her chin in a thinking gesture. "Hmm...I do not know much, to be honest. Whatever happens in the guild is up to Faladiel and you guys. My job here is to give people a safe place to pray, and a home for those who need it. And...i'm also the guard of the church, protecting it from ransacking or vandalism as well. Anyway, I may have an idea on what is going on. May I?" Athena reached her hand out, her palm facing upwards.

"Oh of course. Here," Solrent responded and handed Athena the ruby. Rex reached into his pocket and also placed the spessartine into Athena's hand.

Athena looked at the stones, examining them for any peculiar properties they may have. She raised them into the rays of sunlight above them, but nothing special occurred. She then cupped it in her palm and prayed, mouthing off some words that were even foreign to Rex, but still nothing happened. Disappointed, Athena said, "Hmm...I found nothing magical about them, but in a sense they are magical. I know it sounds confusing but let me rephrase it. These stones have some magical properties on them, but as of right now, they seem inactive. They are missing something, something to trigger them. You told me they are keys, but I feel they are more than that. I'll have to do some more research into them, but at least I have a start. Just be sure you two keep them safe. I do not want these falling into the wrong hands." Athena then placed the respective stone back into Solrent's and Rex's hands.

Once they each received their stone, Athena noticed a strange aura around them. Looking at Solrent, she saw a reddish figure hovering behind him. As soon as Solrent placed the stone back into his pocket, the figure vanished into Solrent's pocket. The same occurred for Rex, but with the all too familiar orange figure instead. Solrent and Rex looked at Athena, seeing her concerned face. Rex asked, "Is everything ok Athena?"

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost or something, Athena."

"It's alright you two. It's nothing at all really. I guess I might still be a bit tired from having to do my report, that's all. Maybe I am seeing stuff from keeping my eyes open all day." Athena smiled, reassuring the two that nothing was wrong. "I think I might just need to call it a day for myself. Sorry that I had to keep our conversation short. I just need to recuperate my energy. I'll be sure to feel better tomorrow and help you guys learn more about the gemstones."

Solrent bowed to Athena and said, "We appreciate all the help you have given us thus far. If you do find more information, please let us know."

Rex bowed as well. "Thank you for everything Athena. Thank you for looking after not only me, but Solrent too."

Athena waved them off kindly. "Oh you guys are embarrassing me. I am just doing my part. Now, if you will excuse me, I'll take a rest and resume finding more information for you two. Until then, have a wonderful rest of your day." Athena bowed and walked back into the inner sanctum of the church.

Rex looked over at Solrent and asked, "So...what should we do next? Want to call it a day as well? We sure learned a lot, but we also have a lot of unanswered questions.

"I agree, Rex. We learned some stuff but at the same time, more questions arose. Still, I am happy Athena will help us. Say...do you want to check out that brothel place? Just in case we missed anything?"

"Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"Athena said she already reported to the church about what happened, but I don't think they have good communication with the guild. Maybe we should do our own little investigation as well, just in case something may have been missed."

"If you say so, I still feel a bit uneasy about it." Rex placed his hand into his pocket, fidgeting with the stone as it pulsed.

"Don't worry Rex. I am here to protect you. I will not let that happen again."

"I appreciate that Sol, thank you."

Both Solrent and Rex headed towards the direction of the brothel. Rex led the way, navigating the direct path to the decrepit building. Once they arrived, the brothel was in shambles. The front door was busted down ever since Solrent slammed his foot into it. Inside, there were holes on the floor and on the wall, the aftermath of the battle between Solrent and Spessart. They both scanned the place, trying to see if Athena may have missed something. However, they found nothing out of the ordinary.

"I got nothing Rex, I just see blood, and holes, and umm...."

Rex looked over at what Solrent stared at and hid his face in shame. "Oh that, please...don't look at that..."

Solrent chuckled and gently hugged Rex. "It's alright. You were not you at the time. I am not going to press more into it. We both know what it is. Let's just avoid that booth for the time being."

Rex nodded his and quickly walked to the opposite side of the booth, examining the walls for anything unusual. "Thanks Sol...I hope we find something though. I swear there has to be something here."

The two continued to search the brothel, but nothing new was found. After hours upon looking, they noticed the sun slowly setting through the door. Solrent and Rex gathered towards the middle of the room, disappointed they came up with no new evidence.

"Hey Sol, I think we should call it a day. I guess Athena really found everything she needed. She sure did a good job of sweeping the place."

"Yeah, I'm feeling very exhausted from the search. Even though we did not find anything, it was still a successful visit. Although..." Solrent began to say as he yawned loudly. "I'm feeling weirdly tired all of a sudden. It's like someone just shot me with the fatigue bug. How are you?"

Rex yawned as well, feeling his muscles a bit sore. "You know, that is weird. I too am feeling tired. We were fine not too long ago. Heh, I guess we may have worked more than we thought. Haha. Well, at least we know we should not be fighting anything soon. I would hate to encounter a brother right now."

"Oh for fucks sake Rex, don't say that. Cause..." Solrent started to say before both he and Rex felt a warm hand on their shoulders. They both looked at the hand and saw it to be dragonian like and yellow in color. As they continued to trace the hands to its origin, they saw a face sticking out, a dragonewt with yellow scales grinning at them with neither malice nor friendliness.

"Me and my big mouth..." Rex was able to say before both he and Solrent were pulled by the dragonewt into the portal, not a trace of their existence was left behind in the brothel.

*********************

"Hey Rex...Rex...wake up...I don't think we are in the brothel anymore."

Rex groaned in a bit of pain, his head was spinning as a migraine coursed in his brain. He got to one knee before he felt an arm slowly grab him and lifted him up. He looked up and saw his partner, Solrent, smiling at him briefly before showing a concerned face. "Ugh...what just happened?"

"Beats me Rex. I was going to ask you the same thing? Would you like to take a guess where we are? I'm not into all this magical stuff like you are, but I have some idea that this is a magical plane."

Rex glanced at the world around him. The sky above him showed nothing but a dark sky blanketed by stars. There was no moon, no sun, only stars in the world above them. Looking forward, he just saw an endless pathway into the horizon. As he rotated his body 360 degrees, the result was the same, nothing within sight. "Hmm...I am not too familiar, but my best guess is that we are in a magical plane of some sort. Do you remember what happened right as we were in the brothel?"

"Not really? I just remember we stood in the middle but then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked at it and when I traced it back to its source, I vaguely remembered seeing a dragonewt's face."

"Oh, so you saw it too. The dragonewt's face. Wait...dragonewt...oh crap..."

Both Solrent and Rex frantically searched the horizon and the sky, but all they got was silence. Solrent then stood in front of Rex and said, "Well, at least it's just us two still, right Rex?...Hey, why are you poking me?" Solrent tilted his head in bewilderment at Rex.

Rex, in his exhausted state, gave off a big sigh and replied, "Just...get your spear ready...cause of that..." Rex pointed behind Solrent.

As Solrent slowly turned his head, he jumped back, readying his spear in a defensive stance. Despite fatigue slowly settling within his body, he mustered enough strength to stand his ground. What he saw was something he was not expecting. Up in the sky was a huge dragon. The shimmering yellow scales of the serpentine dragon shined brightly against the starry sky. The dragon's mane was pure white, with long whiskers flowing in motion. The yellow eyes of the dragon stared intently at them, his body constantly in motion to maintain his ability to hover in the sky. On the underbelly, a cluster of stars can be seen, aligning themselves into a specific constellation. Solrent looked over to Rex and asked, "Care to take a wild guess on who that is?"

Rex looked at the stars and managed to understand the constellation. "That's the dragon constellation, heh, makes sense for a dragon. Are you ready?"

Solrent cracked his neck and stretched his arms, still a bit fatigued. "Not like we have much of a choice."

The dragon gave off a smirk as he came swooping down onto Solrent and Rex. As the dragon approached Solrent, he sidestepped out of the way and attempted to stab the dragon. He felt his spear make contact with the dragon, but it easily bounced off. Rex managed to jump out of the way as well.

The dragon then flew back into the sky before turning its body back towards the group. This time, the dragon reached out with its claws as it descended onto the party. Solrent jumped back in the nick of time, but Rex was not as lucky. Rex slipped when he attempted to jump and the claws grabbed onto him, the dragon dragged his body into the sky above. The dragon firmly held onto Rex as he tried to fight his way from the dragon's grip. With his other hand, the dragon beckoned for Solrent to chase after him as he started to slither away.

"God damnit. This always happens to Rex. I'm sorry buddy, I'm going to save you!" as Solrent yelled into the sky. He opened his wings, and despite his lethargy, pumped them against the ground and took off, chasing the dragon.

Solrent tried his best to keep pace with the dragon, flying as fast as he could. The dragon looked back at Solrent, seeing him chasing its tail. The dragon then stared at Rex, with Rex staring back at the dragon. The flight continued for what felt like an eternity, the eyes of the dragon never leaving Rex's, yet flying so perfectly in the sky. Eventually, Solrent was able to reach the legs of the dragon and tried to dive into it with his spear. As soon as he readied his spear, the dragon started his descent into the ground. Solrent chased after it, fearing that the dragon planned on slamming his partner into the floor. Solrent pumped his wings as fast as he could, working on nothing but adrenaline. However, it was too late as the dragon slammed Rex's body with its hand to the ground. Solrent screamed out Rex's name and tried to stop his descent, but his wings betrayed him as he crashed into the ground as well.

Solrent struggled on the ground, his wings feeling inoperable while his limbs barely moved a muscle. He was able to keep one eye open and saw Rex's body lay lifeless on the ground next to him, the towering dragon heading above them. With as much strength as Solrent mustered, he said, "Rex...wake up..Rex...!" Despite the yelling, Rex's body stayed motionless. Solrent looked back at the dragon, and saw it opened its mouth. A shining ray of light emanated from its jaw, growing brighter second by second. Solrent crawled over to Rex and laid his body on top of him, being a shield to protect Rex from the impending blast. "Don't worry Rex...I'll protect you...no matter what...you mean...everything...to me...." Solrent took one last glance at his partner before shutting his eyes, accepting whatever fate had decided for him. Rex means the world to him, and he will be his guardian through it all. Solrent braced himself, clutching onto Rex's body with a vice grip as the dragon released its breath, the light hitting their bodies as the world was illuminated like the stars above.

********************************

"WAH!" Solrent exclaimed as he rose up. He blinked his eyes and scanned his surroundings. He first looked down towards his legs, seeing them lay comfortably on a couch. He moved his feet, wiggling his claws. He then looked at his arms, flexing them and moving them about. He turned his head left and right, seeing an ornate bed perfectly set and undisturbed. He scratched his head and moved his legs to the floor, slowly standing up. He muttered to himself, "Heh, so this is what the afterlife is. But wait, why am I still in my armor?" Solrent looked down towards his chest, his armor still intact and unscathed. Solrent decided to pinch himself and yelped out in a bit of pain. "Ouch! That sort of hurt a little. Well, I guess this is no dream." A bit of gloom dawned upon him. "I guess that was it...wait...where's Rex? Oh please don't do this to me, cruel world..." Solrent panicked and tried to look for any sign of Rex, but nothing about his partner appeared before him. However, he heard faint voices coming from the door at the end of the room. He also sniffed the air, and smelled something rather tantalizing. "Mmm...I hope the afterworld has good food at least...I do miss Rex's cooking..."

Solrent walked towards the door and saw that he was on the second floor of a house. To his right looked to be a hallway leading to other rooms. To his left were stairs descending to the first floor. The sound of chatter echoed louder towards Solrent's horns. "I better check what that is. I wonder who I will meet in this world." Solrent headed down the stairs, towards the curious voices. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned his head to the source of the sound and saw a figure that started to tear him up. In front of him was the one person who made him the happiest in the world, his beloved partner Rex. "REX!" screamed Solrent. The figure turned towards him and smiled back. Rex was wearing his bard attire, but he also had on a chef's apron and hat. Rex was cooking some food over the stove, a frying pan in one hand and a spatula in the other. "Oh Rex, I am so happy to see you," Solrent said as he started his path to Rex.

"Oh, hey there Solrent. Happy to see you too. You must be hungry, so please, have a seat over there," Rex said as he pointed towards a table. "I'll be done with the food soon, and I made your favorite, Beef Wellington.

"Mmm, it smells delicious Rex. I always enjoy your food." Solrent headed towards the table Rex gestured at, pulled back the chair and sat down."

Rex continued to cook a bit more, applying the finishing touches to the meal. Once it was plated, Rex walked over to the table and presented it in front of Solrent. "Bon Appetit."

Solrent happily chowed down on his plate, enjoying the flavorful dishes of Rex's cuisine. "Dang Rex, this is so freaking delicious. You are the best chef a partner can ever ask for."

"Heh, happy you enjoyed the food. I do take pride in my cooking," Rex gloatingly said.

"You should. You deserve all the praise...although," Solrent began to say as he pointed at the mysterious third plate he prepared. "Why is there a third plate? It's just me and you."

"Oh? That one, it's for our lovely host," Rex replied as he pointed to Solrent's right.

Solrent momentarily stopped eating as he turned his head to his side and dropped his utensils. He felt like his jaw hit the table as he saw a figure he last expected, a yellow dragonewt. The dragonewt chuckled and smiled kindly back at Solrent. He nearly stumbled out of his chair as he saw the yellow dragonewt causally eating the meal as well. From what Solrent could tell, the dragonewt dressed in nothing more than a simple bathrobe, nothing covering his head, legs or arms. "What the fuck is going on here. Shit, where is my weapon." Solrent frantically searched for his spear, but remembered he left it upstairs. "Rex, we need to get out of here. NOW!"

Chuckling as well, Rex said, "It's ok Solrent, calm down. Geez, you sure panic a lot now, don't you? He means no harm, trust me."

Solrent shook his head. "This is all a trick. This cannot be real. This is a scheme by the brother to torture me before I actually move to the afterlife. He wants me to suffer for taking out two of his brothers. He wants to torment me by using Rex."

The dragonewt snickered and stated, "Hey Rex, your buddy there. He overreacts a lot."

"Yeah Top, he is overprotective of me, that is all. But I truly appreciate him for that. Still, I think it is best we prevent any further brain damage to him, haha." Rex walked over to Solrent and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. He then said one magical phrase, Calm Emotions, as a wave of inner peace wafted through Solrent's mind. Solrent took a deep breath, feeling his heart rate slowed down as the thoughts of panic dissipated. Once it looked like Solrent was in a zen state of mind, Rex said, "Ok, now that we got that out of the way, let me introduce you to our friend Sol, this is Top."

Top

Circle of Stars Druid

Dragonewt

The dragonewt waved back, chuckling at seeing Solrent's ordeal just now. "Pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Solrent. I've heard a lot about you, not just from Rex, but of course from Rubrum and Spessart as well."

Shocked, confused, but calm, Solrent said, "Umm...what the fuck is actually going on here. Rex, please explain to me why one of the guardians is playing house?"

"Well Sol, this is actually his house," Rex nervously replied to Solrent. "Like, this is his actual home."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Allow me to explain Mr. Solrent," Top started to say. "It is exactly as your partner Rex said. This is my home, and you are in my dimension, the astral plane."

Solrent sunk into his chair, utterly confused as to what he just heard. "Astral plane? Wait, is this the afterlife? You pulled me into your plane just to torture Rex and I, didn't you?"

Top laughed, shaking his head in disagreement. "No, no it is nothing like that. You see, you two are very much alive. I was the one who pulled you guys into my dimension when you were at my brother's last moment of life in your plane. But, I do not show any animosity towards you or Rex. To be honest, I actually want you to defeat my brothers." Solrent was about to interject but Top said, "Before you say anything, let me explain further." Top cleared his throat. "To put a long story short, I do have feelings for my brothers and now that you took care of two of them, it actually made me happy. I'm not sadistic, so do not think that. It's just that you freed my brothers from the chains that beheld them. Now, I won't go into my own family history, but to give you an idea, I was the only guardian who was able to think for himself. I managed to escape my father's influence, mainly due to my laziness, my apathy to do anything really. I barely listened to him and when he was about to order my brothers to restrain me, I escaped into this dimension. Being a druid, I followed a map and it led me here. Now, I call this dimension my home. Got everything so far Mr. Solrent?"

Solrent stared in disbelief, but nodded his head, "I believe so. This is a lot to take in."

"I know it is, but I am almost done with the story, and I will explain why you and Rex are here. So, I am aware that you want to open the portal to my dad's place and that you were tasked in retrieving the 7 gemstones that my brother and I guard. I saw how you defeated both Rubrum and Spessart, and to be quite frank, they were a bit easy compared to what you will face up against soon."

"So, you are saying that Rex and I will have to fight you now? In your own dimension? Heh, I guess this was too good to be true. I bet you even poisoned the food."

"Haha, I do not blame you for thinking that. But no, I am not here to fight you. Actually, if you want the gemstone, here," Top reached into his pocket and pulled out his gemstone, a yellow topaz. He brought a sickle he concealed on his person and nicked his skin, blood slowly seeping down his arm. Top placed the stone onto the blood, slowly filling the stone. Once enough of his blood seeped into it, the stone pulsed bright yellow with life, and Top placed it in front of Solrent. "There, all yours. I prefer not to die for you to get it. I actually like living, you know."

Solrent reached over and touched the stone, picking it up as he saw the yellow energy flowing about inside the stone. "Wait, so this is the actual gemstone? Your own personal key to your father? Why are you giving it so easily to Rex and I?"

"Like I said before, I really do not like my dad and I see great potential in both you and Rex. I know you have the ability to free my brothers from their shackles and defeat my dad."

"Yeah Sol, Top explained that to me as well. And you know about that fight we had with Top in his big dragon form? That was all staged. I did not realize it until he swooped me into the sky and communicated with me via Message."

Still shocked and confused, Solrent said, "Oh...I see..I mean, that explains a lot, but at the same time, this is a lot to take in...Wait a sec...that entire fight was fake? But what about your body being slammed into the ground?"

"Oh Mr. Solrent, I made sure to pull back at the last second and slam my fist into the ground. I did not intend to cause any harm to your partner. You can ask him, he is fine from what I can tell."

"That is correct Sol, Top actually prevented any damage to me. All he told me at that point was to use the spell, Feign Death, which I did."

"And I got to say Rex, you played your role so perfectly too. I knew I would like you," Top said as he patted Rex on the back.

"Wait a sec, so when you were on the ground Rex. Did you know everything that was going on? Like when I used my body to shield you and whatnot?"

Rex looked at the ground in embarrassment, unsure of how to properly respond. "Well..umm...yes I was aware."

"And I got to say there Mr. Solrent, you really do care about your partner. Besides the influence Rubrum had on you, I can tell that Rex means the world to you."

"Of course Top, Rex is my partner, and I will always be there to protect him."

"That is really sweet, what do you think about that, Rex?"

"Ehh, I..am at a loss for words. But, Sol, I truly appreciate it. I mean it, you are the best partner I can ever ask for." Rex got up from his chair and hugged Solrent tightly. "To see you do that for me, I know you really care about me."

Solrent smiled and gently rubbed Rex's horns, which caused him to shudder and moan softly, "Well duh, dummy. You know that already. I will always be there for you."

"See, I know that the both of you will be able to tackle anything in front of you. Even though my last four brothers may be quite a challenge, you two have the ability and potential to overcome it." Top slowly got up from his chair and laid comfortably on the couch, still looking at Solrent and Rex.

"Speaking of your brothers Top," Solrent started to say. "Can you give us information about the last four brothers? Like, what can we do to defeat them?"

Top shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well..I mean, I could tell you. But where is the fun in that? I don't want to make it too easy for you to know about all my brother's personal traits, otherwise they would know you had conspired with me. I don't want them to know about me, and I want to keep it a secret as best as I can, for many reasons. Trust me, your partner Rex asked the same thing too."

Rex looked to Solrent and nodded his head, "Yeah Sol. I tried to pry information from Top about the other four, but to no avail."

Solrent sighed and said, "I mean. Is there anything we can do to persuade you otherwise?"

Top grinned mischievously at Solrent and Rex, shifting his body to that of a French pose. He then reached over to his waist and pulled about the cloth holding his bathrobe together. Solrent and Rex's eyes were amazed at the sight before them. For a druid, Top still managed to keep his core tone and his thighs rather muscled. However, the sight that caught both of their eyes was his groin. They both saw a rather magnificent cock, standing about 12 inches long and thick with veins. The set of balls underneath hung low, heavy with Top's life essence. "Well, if you want some help, you got to help me in return. I'm a bit tired of taking care of myself right now, so if Rex, and only Rex, wants to lend me a helping hand right now, I may consider delving into some information that you want."

Before Solrent could even look at Rex, Rex immediately said, "Nope! Ain't happening. I will not do that. No sirree. I cannot see myself stooping to that level. No way I will ever see myself doing that."

Solrent turned his head back to the cock and thought in his head, Man, that guy is actually huge, even bigger than me. And he wants Rex to give him a handjob? In front of me too? I wish that were me instead.

"I take that as a no for sure then," Top said as he tied his robe back. "I'll take care of it later then, I'm not in a rush. But anyway, I would like to leave a piece of advice for the two of you though, just something for you two to think about."

"Sure Top, what do you have in mind for Sol and I?"

"Well, I will start with you then Rex," Top said as he looked at Rex seriously. "You have to learn to be adaptable and do things that may end up hurting you a bit. Yes, I know that sounds weird, but you will come across a time where you have to put aside your own personal feelings in order to fully achieve your goal."

Rex tilted his head, confused at that statement. "Uh huh? Ok I guess Top. That sounds very confusing, but I will look into that."

"I know it is a bit vague, but I can't outright tell you. But, from the brief conversation I have with you, I know you will understand when the time comes. Now, as for you Mr. Sol." Top turned his gaze to Solrent. "You have to not let your emotions get the better of you. I know you care much for Rex, but that can also hurt your relationship with him too. You will come across a time where your emotions will be put into play again. You have to make sure it doesn't overwhelm you, or else you will become spiteful."

Solrent tilted his head as well, concerned with Top's advice. "I mean, I know I can get very emotional with Rex, but I wouldn't want to hurt him again. I learned that from the first time."

"It is not just with Rex, I am sure you have other friends and companions you may come across where this may come up. But, just like Rex, you have the resolve to overcome these obstacles."

"Thank you then Top, I appreciate your advice. And I know Rex does too."

"Yeah, thanks Top," Rex said as he came over to hug Top. As he embraced Top, he felt a bit of a poke on his leg, causing Rex to blush. "Umm..you really should take care of that Top..."

"You ran into it, don't look at me. I offered, and you said no. But anyway, I am going to go relax in my hot springs. A nice, warm soaking sounds like a good idea right now for me. All of that stuff earlier took a lot of energy out of me. I did have a lot of fun though, more than I have in a very, very long time."

"You have a hot spring?" Solrent asked with surprise.

"I mean, why not? This is my house after all, anything I want, I will have. You guys are more than welcome to join me, but I think it is best you guys head back to your dimension. Time doesn't stand still when you are in this plane. You guys have been gone for a while and I don't want anyone thinking you two have been kidnapped or something. But don't worry, I will keep an eye out for you guys on your adventures. When you will least expect it, I will make my presence known, safely of course."

"Oh ok then Top, we will take our leave then..." Rex looked around the house, but unsure of how to leave. "Any ideas Sol?"

"Nope, I thought you would know Rex."

"Guys, just go through the front door. It's that simple."

"Oh, gotcha, thanks Top." Rex pulled onto Solrent's arm as they headed towards the front door. They both waved goodbye, once again thanking Top for his gemstone and for the advice. Rex turned the handle onto the door and swung it open. All they saw in front of them was a shimmering image of the center of the brothel. Looking at his partner, Rex gripped tightly onto Solrent's hand as they both leapt out of the house and into the image, the front door swinging behind them.

Top chuckled as he started to walk towards his hot springs room, which was located down the hall next to the kitchen. "Those guys, they got this. I am not too worried." Top opened the door to his hot springs room and quickly moved into the warm water, sitting down and relaxing. "Mmm...you guys were right though. I did have a sense of you two in them. Granted, your gemstones reflect their personalities. I just wonder with the other four, if they will be able to cope with it and not let it overtake them. What do you guys think, Roo, Spaz?"

The red dragonewt leaned back comfortably in the springs as well, casually playing on his keytar, "I know that Solrent guy will have a hard time with two of our brothers. But, he defeated me, so I have some hope for him. Just hope Em and Zenny won't be too hard on him, heh..."

The orange dragonewt slammed his fist on a rock, cracking it in two. He felt enraged, but took a deep breath and relaxed as well in the hot springs. "Ugh, I am still a bit upset about that fight. He cheated, but I will accept the result. I was so close to getting that Rex fella too. Still, looking at Rex, Chubbs and King will be a huge challenge for him, with his personality."

Top laughed and said, "Oh you two. You guys are a bit much. But I am happy you guys have some faith in those two. They will help rescue our brothers, just like I rescued you two. We will defeat our father, and can finally live in peace."

**********************************

Solrent and Rex appeared in the middle of the brothel, standing at the exact spot where they were taken earlier by Top.

"Uhhh, Rex...was all of that just real?"

"I think so..."

"That just felt unreal. Like, all of that with Top in that astral plane nonsense."

"I know what you mean Sol, but wait...the stone...do you have it?"

Solrent reached into his pocket and pulled out two gemstones, one being ruby and the other a topaz. "Oh! It's here! So I guess all of that did happen. But hey Rex, that is three for three now."

Rex nodded his head. "Yeah, that was a rather easy one to do. I like that Top guy though. Though he may have a lackadaisical attitude, he can be a strong ally for us."

Solrent patted Rex on his shoulder, guiding him towards the exit door. "I hope so. I guess not all of the guardians can be bad. Or maybe we just got lucky with this one. Anyway, we should head back. I don't want Faladiel or Athena to worry about us. But, we should keep Top a secret though, right?"

"Yeah Sol, let's not discuss this to anyone, especially Athena. We don't want to turn Top against us. You saw what he could do, and I would not want to face an angry dragon like him."

"Haha, that is true Rex, I was scared that we would be goners fighting him. But yea, on to the next one."

Solrent and Rex departed the brothel and headed back towards the guild, relieved that they possessed three of the gemstones. However, this is just the beginning of the arduous journey that will unfold in front of their eyes.