Of all the ways Saul could've died over the years, embarrasment was certainly becoming the top contender.

"Are you sure he's coming back?"

Saul pinched the brim of the nose, taking a moment to collect himself.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't."

The young group at the far side of his stone table started to shift nervously, their feet kicking up dust from the dirt floor. Saul knew the look in their eyes all too well; the restrained indignation with hints of fear and shame. Clive's return from the Eastern Dive had brought those looks out of every sensible adult not out in the fields all day. Saul was honestly impressed the children had been left unscathed up to this point.

As Saul's gaze lingered on the trio, they all did their best to focus on something else. Saul almost wanted to laugh at the attempt. After Clive burned down his house for the second time, a lot of work was put into finding a way to flame-proof stone. Unfortunately, that had left Saul little time to redecorate. He supposed stone rafters would be mildly interesting to look at, but the kids didn't seem to agree.

Doing his best to look the part of the wisened veteran, Saul leaned forward onto his staff.

"Believe me, you have little to worry about. Clive may act a tad eccentric, but he means well enough."

Well enough not to put theft on his record, at least Saul thought inwardly as the adventurers-to-be started to relax.

"Did he have to take all the pendants?" The young girl asked, poorly hiding her distress.

Saul alowed a chuckle to escape his lips. "Easy, Vug. He may be as predictable as a nature spirit, but that man has gotten me out of more tough spots than I care to mention."

Vug turned away, shielding her face behind her long black hair.

"My name's Vugulis." She muttered softly.

"And mine's Solomon, but that's uncle Saul to you lot."

Saul's accompanying wink was awarded with some relaxed laughter, and Saul internally let out a sigh of relief. Barring another potential felony, the worst should be behind us.

The next few minutes were spent in more pleasant conversation. Saul took the time to run through the trio's pre-adventure checklist. Aside from Harold's arms and legs being deliberately uncovered, everyone was as packed with as much gear as a small town like Southward could afford. Even with the success Saul brought from being (leader) of the /Solaris Company\, there was only so much money could do to prepare new adventurers for what they would soon face. As the conversation began to die down, Saul began silently twisting one end of his staff.

"Well, since Clive has yet to show himself, I suppose we'll continue without him."

With a heavy crack, the staff split in two, revealing a rolled-up scroll hidden within the hollow shell. Saul allowed himself a satisfied smile as his home went entirely silent. The normally constant noise of the forest near his home was completely absent, as if the whole world understood the gravity of what was about to happen. In reality, Saul had practiced Systro for this very situation. As he waited for his work to lock into place, Saul looked toward his onlookers. Harold practically fell over himself trying to burn every detail into his beady green eyes. Vug couldn't be bothered by the spectacle, as she was trying to take deep breaths without making her distress obvious. Robern seemed to be calm by comparison, though Saul knew from experience that a million questions were bubbling just beneath the surface. Satisfied the systret had settled, Saul continued.

"Would any prospective (leaders) please step forward?"

Vug stood and walked toward the scroll. Gone were the childish fears that griped her moments before. All that remained was the detemined glare of a feirce warrior; a leader prepared to live and die by her party's grace. Saul looked into those eyes and saw himself in the same point of his life, completely unprepared for what he was giving up, yet taking each step with unwavering confidence.

When Saul had become a (leader), he was forced to leave his sister behind. The divide between Garra and himself had grown further than Saul would have prefered, but Vug's interest in adventuring had gone a long way towards rebuilding old bridges.

"Vugulis |commonfolk|, do you pledge yourself to the path of adventure, to those who would walk this path with you, and to the role of companion, master, and final verdict?"

Vug's stiffness slowly returned as she replied, "By the might of my elders, by the heart of my decendants, and the will of The Path, I do so pledge."

Saul smiled softly, "Then you are recognized as my equal, and shall be |commonfolk| no longer. State your path, brave (leader)."

Vug choked in one last calming breath before speaking the words that would seal her fate.

"I take upon me the name of (Dangersbane). \The Path/ shall know my followers as the /Sparks of Solomon\. My journey shall follow in the steps of the {Twinblade}."

Saul nodded, allowing a single tear to well up in his eye. "Take your scroll, Vugulis (Dangersbane). May your path lead to greatness."

Vug reached out toward the scroll, and arcs of white light bled into her fingers. As she closed her fist around the paper, sparks exploded outward, enveloping the shed in luminous tendrils for a moment. Not wasting a breath, Vug turned to her two companions sitting at the table.

"Harold |commonfolk| and Wilson |commonfolk|, will you join me as the /Sparks of Solomon\ for as long as our paths may cross?"

Harold and Robern both stood from their seats, raising their right hands to grasp their left shoulders.

"For as long as our paths may cross."

Saul willed his Systro to naturally dissipate as the two boys chose their new names and paths. Once they were both done, Saul let out a relieved sigh. Systro was certainly much harder to use while his party was retired. If he hadn't been practicing for this the last month or so, he might have lost some fingers to a stray waft of systrem. After taking a moment to place his staff together, Saul moved toward the door.

"Well, now that the formalities are all accounted for, I'll see what I can't do about finding-"

A man barged through the door at that very moment, his short, firey hair only matched in vibrancy by the green straps pulled over his robes.

"I'm back!" Clive cried before leaning over to gasp for air. "Did I make it?"

Saul's smile wavered on his face as he replied, "Apologies, Clive, but we were forced to finish without you."

Clive smacked a closed fist into his forehead. "I knew I should have gotten Agnes to go faster."

Saul's composure sliped further as he pulled Clive upright. "Perhaps next time it would be better not to burst in upon Agnes after regulation working hours with stolen pendants."

Clive backed away from Saul in mock indignation. "I didn't steal anything, Saul! You know me better than that. Besides, Agnes always has time for a rush order."

Even for Clive this was eccentric. Saul's desire to give him a proper scolding was strong, but he needed to keep up appearances for the new adventurers.

Deep breaths, Solomon, deep breaths...

"Clive, what could possibly be important enough to warrant a rush job from a retired (Battlecraft)?

In response, Clive revealed a simple wooden box from the folds of his robe. Saul leveled a heavy glare at Clive, which was met with a raised eybrow. A terse silence followed as Saul tried to piece together what was happening. As much as he wanted to give in and lock Clive to the ceiling, that would only make him more unbearable in the future. Even still, Saul could swear he knew that box from somewhere. The winding path of engraved spirals on the lid was clearly the emblem of Tarnsbed, which meant it was either a reward from the Prefect or something Clive's brother had bought for him. Perhaps Clive had felt the need to give the new adventurers something more substantial than what the town could provide. That thought was what gave Saul his epiphany. There was only one thing Clive could have thought to use on those pendants to be so excited about it.

"Clive, you didn't..."

Clive cracked a michevious smile, which looked more than a little sinister when paired with his leaner face.

"You bet your boots I did!"

Clive handed the box to Vug, motioning for her to open it. Vug looked inside curiously before pulling out three polished gray stones with silver chains running through them. With another motion from Clive, all three chains found their way to an adventurer. The moment the first pendant rested on a neck, its surface began to ripple. Light waves soon became a writhing typhoon of molten stone. Just as soon as it had begun, it was over. Rather than a simple oval, each necklace had taken on its own unique emblem. Vug stared blankly at her own emblem, a flapping banner crossed by two small daggers.

"The daggers will be switched out with whichever weapon you choose to wield," Clive responded enthusiastically, "and the banner will show your emblem when you chose to commission one."

Vug muttered a simple thanks before stumbling out the door, the boys following behind worriedly. Saul's previous indignation melted away into worry. If a systrite pendant had her so out of sorts, there was no telling how her first combat encounter would pan out. Saul wanted nothing more than to demand to go with the /Sparks of Solomon\ when they left for the nearest major township, but that kind of coddling might make things worse in the long term.

"They weren't the only ones I brought a gift for, you know."

Saul's mask of professionalism fell apart entirely as he turned to see a scroll held out towards himself. Snatching it away quickly, he examined the contents.

Quest: What's Old is New

Though the new generations will come to stake their claim, there is much to learn from what came before

Requirements: Gather the /Solaris Expedition\ and ensure them safe passage to the Woods of Heg.

Rewards: Mentorship of the Solaris Expedition; 20 Tarns

One-time quest; cannot be repeated

To any sane man, Saul's glare would be paralyzing. To Cilve, this was just another Onesday. Knowing that fact only made Saul intensify his glare.

"You never went to the Eastern Dive, did you?"

Clive's grin was all the answer Saul needed. This reeked of Clive's usual antics, and Saul didn't care for how that might involve his neice.

"Clive?"

"Yes?"

"Close the door."

Clive obliged Saul's request, but the click of the door was cut short as several etchings began to illuminate on the door. Saul couldn't see his face from his current angle, but Clive's leisurely stance made it clear how he felt about the situation.

Saul lost it. A solid five minutes passed before anything intelligable left his mouth.

"Systrite, Clive! You afixed their pendants with Systrite! Do you know how much we were going to sell that for!? 300 Tarns at least! And now we're spending 20 Tarns on a quest to the mercy-willing Woods of Heg! You know who lives in those woods! The moment we get there we could be skewered alive if we so much step on the wrong twig, and that's the best-case scenario! Before we even get there we're going to have to answer to the Prefect! The Prefect is not going to be happy with us for shortening our retirement! Are you prepared to deal with all the paperwork he will want us to sift through!?"

"Saul-"

"Don't you 'Saul' me, you cretin! This all woul've been fine if you had tried this in any other way, par for the course, really. You weren't satisfied with just our team, though, were you!? No, you just had to drag my neice into this! She could be facing jail time now for something that you caused! That's all assuming Garra doesn't gut me the moment I leave this house! You've really mucked up this time, Clive, and we're all paying the price!"

Saul collapsed to the ground between breaths, and Cilve knelt down to meet his eyes.

"Feel better?"

Saul only rolled to his back in response.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you I had a plan?"

Saul glared at Clive. "Your last 'plan' set fire to half the town."

Clive chuckled nervously at that. "Yes, well, the grass wasn't burning right and I thought I could just-"

"Stop! I want nothing to be spoken about that incident again."

"-and when the dirt caught fire, apparently you came in with more dirt and-"

"Clive!"

A smirk crossed Clive's face as he looked down on his (Leader).

"You can try, but you can't stop the gossips from talking."

"Watch me." Saul grunted as he attempted to get back on his shaky feet. After a few deep breaths, his calm, yet pleasant demeanor was back in full force. Saul slid a hand down the door to disperse the systrem, then paused when he reached the handle.

"Clive?"

"Yeah, Saul?"

"You're an idiot."

Clive let out a weary chuckle. "Well, I do try."