User blog:NayrianKnight/Genesis of Hope (Part 2) - The White Cord

"And so now you're trying to find my Draxis?" Orna had been listening to Leonidas's story since he freed her. They are currently in a cave system, one that Leo's map had led them to.

"Pretty much. Although all I've been getting with this map are false positives so far."

"Weird. Well, what are you planning to do after you find him?"

"I won't be able to defeat the next Fallen God in my current state. If I find Draxis, he can pass down his powers and make me a full Dragonborn, as well as teach me mastery over the elements and his Dragonic abilities."

"So then what will happen to your swords?"

"I'll still use them. They'll just act more like regulators for my powers in combat, keep them under control in case I lose it for no reason."

Eze caught up with Leo and Orna, butting in. "But that's never happened to you before."

"C'mon, bro. It's better safe than sorry."

As the group was talking, they finally made it to the innermost chamber of the caves, a huge open cavern with a miniature lake near the back wall. The map stopped glowing. With a hefty sign, Leo sat down.

"Well, another dead end and another false positive. Let's take a break, then we can find our way ba-"

Before Leo could finish, a Hobgoblin jumped from behind some rocks and took something off of Leo. It wasn't Zel, though, it was two pieces of some kind of white cotton rope, one piece much longer than the other. The Hobgoblin immediately ran toward the cave exit. Orna and Leo seemed to be the only worried ones.

"Leo, did it just steal what I think it did?!"

"Yeah, and I'm getting them back!" Leo got up and sprinted toward the Hobgoblin in an attempt to catch up. Before Orna could join him, Mariudeth and the others stopped her, confused as to what's going on.

"In my years as a king I've been mad whenever gold and jewels were stolen, but what's so important about two pieces of freaking string?!"

"It's part of a Nayr family tradition! They longer piece of White Cord is worn by the Nayrian Knight, the head of the clan, like a sash. It's to the clan head like a crown is to a king, signifying who he is in battle."

Lorand was becoming more concerned. "And what of the shorter piece of this so called White Cord?"

"The Nayrian Knight gives that to a girl he feels he has truly fallen in love with as a sign of that love. He was planning on giving it t-"

"WILL YOU GUYS HURRY UP?!" The echos in the cave made Leo's call a lot louder. Orna cut the explanation short and chased after Leo, the others following her. As they were chasing the thief, Luly and Zellha were firing magic missiles at it. The Hobgoblin was gaining ground fast, but Leo was catching up fast. Leo kept using ECS to shoot water at it over and over again, but the twists in the cave allowed the Hobgoblin to avoid all attacks. Eventually, they emerged fro the cave and followed the Hobgoblin into the center of the ruins of La Veda.

"Now we dont have to hold back! Everyone, go!" They all attacked, and this time the Hobgoblin had nowhere to hide. Just before it was destroyed, Leonidas snatched the cords off of the Hobgoblin.

"There we go." He put the long White Cord back on under his shirt and tied the short one on his upper arm under his sleeve. "Much better. So I guess Orna explained what these are?"

"She did, big bro! Glad to help you get them back!"

"Did she also explain how she came up with them?"

All except Zellha looked shooked. "With the way she was talking about them, I had a feeling."

Suddenly, the map began to glow again, this time pointing towards a huge tower in the distance, which seemed to be across a long bridge.

"Well, looks like that place is our next stop, guys."

And something tells me it will be different this time around.