Tonan staggered into Dorhaven, powered solely by the will to see his parents. He didn't know how he managed to even make it to Dorhaven without passing out from exhaustion, He hadn't stopped walking from the moment he left the convenience store in the Stacks the previous day.

He immediately noticed the Tenement house was completely beyond repair, and the nearby houses were almost in a similar state, due to the spreading flames.

He placed a sleepy Obsida on the floor and started slowly walking towards his parents house, Hoping it wasn't caught it the blaze.

He approached the corner to the street his parents lived on and looked down it, half expecting it to be how he remembered it to be, 2 years ago.

Tonan might not have recognized the street.

The unfortunate influence of the galdori occupation of Dorhaven was the birth of several new businesses, most of them flashy and strangely out-of-place in the sleepy town. What had once been a remote village, untouched by the cosmopolitan airs of Vienda, was now a relatively thriving getaway spot for galdori tourists.

Instead of homes, businesses lined the streets, selling everything from coffees to pastries to souvenirs. The few tenement houses that were left were in shoddy repair; many of the windows were boarded up and the walls looked on the verge of collapse. Clearly, the town government was not doing a very good job of keeping the quality of life up.

It seemed impossible that within 2 years, Dorhaven could have changed this drastically.

Tonan dropped himself and landed on his backside. Had he turned down a wrong street? No, the sign clearly showed it was right.. What happened to his parents' house?
"They've still got to be here, right?" he said to himself, looking down the now unfamiliar street.

"Unless one of these stupid golly shop owners decided to buy them out of home.." He said while punching the ground. He got up and began walking down the street, asking anyone who came close Where Mr and Mrs Sayania went.

Most of the people that Tonan passed did not seem to want to speak to him. They hurried past, looking at the road to avoid eye contact.

One particularly helpful soul looked annoyed, but answered him. "Moved," the elderly man whispered. "Along with the Bavenses, the Shapiros and the Morgansons. This mornin'. Everyone's leavin' town now that there's talk of a golly attack..."

Tonan's face dropped like a ton of bricks. "Moved?!" he blurted out.
"When did they leave?" He hoped it wasnt too long ago, there might be a chance he could catch them..



"Did they say where they were going?" he wanted to catch them up.
Tonan quickly mulled over again what the man said, in his panic about his parents, had had overheard the man say something about a golly attack.
"Oh, you said something about a golly attack? Wasn't this a golly atack?"
Tonan ran his hands through his hair. In his rush, he'd completely forgotten to tie back his hair, it was strewn all over his face.
"Oh great. I bet i look insane or something" He thought.

"Hesta, you okay?" came a voice over his shoulder. Nora Baranchi had just come to Dorhaven from Vienda in hopes that she could find a way to help the people here recover from the attack. She didn't know much about what had happened (just gossip and rumors), but with full pockets and heart she intended to do all that she could before moving on. As it was, she hadn't had time to get off her cart yet, and she sat in the seat with her hingle on her shoulder surveying the mess of a town around her.

The old man, plagued by the prejudices of his forefathers in such a small town, looked slightly uncomfortable at the appearance of Nora.

"Nobody said," he answered, "nobody said where they were goin' to. Why should they? Gollies'd just get 'em for back taxes or some such folderol." He spat. "They're sayin' the attack was an accident. We're sayin it weren't, and they're tryin'a wipe us out. You tell your friends, son. Get the hell outta Dorhaven while you can."

He turned, and stumped away, still harrumphing.

"Well, of course they're sayin' it's an accident," Nora said to the retreating figure, "They'd never get mixed up with somethin' as shameful as a massacre." Her face overcast, she turned back to the tall, black-haired boy. She eyed his scar momentarily, then asked, "Now, you were lookin' for someone?"

Tonan was startled by the appearance of Nora behind him, it was probably his lack of sleep and his long walk that made him less aware of his surroundings.
"Yeah, typical gollies, don't like to take the blame for anything, they're too perfect to let this tarnish their reputation." He chipped in. "I just hope that too many weren't killed, I grew up here." He shook his head slowly.


He turned around to face Nora. "Oh, yeah. My parents. They lived here, but they've apparantly moved on" He scratched the side of his head "I don't know where they'd go though, I don't recall them knowing anyone outside of Dorhaven"
He reached into his bag and pulled out the small peice of rope that he uses to hold his hair in place, pulled his hair back and began tying. "Forgive my appearance, I havent slept at all, I just came from Brunnhold as fast as I could."

"Hm. Seems like everyone's getting the hell out of Dorhaven."



"Same here. I know there're a lot of people comin' in here to try and help, but I think they've got their work cut out for them," she eyed the column of smoke looming ominously over the city, "and so do I. When were your parents here last, that you know of? Actual citizens have been rare here since it became a tourist trap. I was here about eight years ago as a kid, and that's the last I remember of it not being one. Every time since has been swarming with galdori."

Tonan recalled his chat with the old man a few moments ago. "This morning. They left this morning, although no-one knows where."
In a way, Tonan wanted to try and find them, but there was no hope really, they hadn't told anyone where they went.
"I, myself only left here 2 years ago." He scratched his chin a little, he needed a shave. "the gollies were getting a little too cocky, so I left, with other reasons of course.." He picked up Obsidia "I'm Tonan, and this is Obsida, It's nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you, Tonan, Obsida." She leaned forward to pat the osta and extend her hand to Tonan, "I'm Nora, this is Pat and Panko," she indicated the hingle then her horse, "and Nip, Nat, and Bunny are in back. So, where did your parents work? Maybe there's someone still there who can give you answers?"

Tonan took Nora's hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you Nora, Pat, Panko"


Tonan recalled what his parents did for a living. "My mother was a housewife, she just stayed home and looked after the home and Obsidia's mother. My father was a farmhand on the outskirts of town"

((excuse my short posts, illness is catching me))

"Hm. Not much to work off, there," she replied, "I don't know... Did they have any close friends around? Relatives that they would stay with? If there ent any, then it may just be a case of tough luck.

"They weren't anywhere near that were they?" She tipped her head toward the plume of smoke. If they were, there might not be any hope for the poor boy. "Or were they on the edge of town, maybe so your father could get to the farmlands quickly in the morning?"

Tonan crossed his arms, lowered his head and began thinking.
"None that I can recall, my parents liked how quiet this town was, when they first came, they liked the seclusion. They kept to themselves a lot."
He nodded to himself, "Yeah, they didn't know anyone close enough"



Tonan looked down the street, still looking out for his parents' house, he couldn't see it at all, with the commotion and the smoke occasionally obsuring his vision. "They lived on this street here.."

Nora bit her lip in thought. This street was mostly galdor establishments, but if they lived here they might have sold the lower floors to businesses and lived upstairs. Most humans in the area had done that, if they hadn't been forced out of their homes or sold the whole lot to the galdori.

"Hop up here," she slid over to one side of the cart's bench, making room for him,"We'll go up and down the street a bit till we find it. Maybe they left something to indicate where they went. I doubt your parents would leave you without something to explain where they'd gone."

At best, they would find some sort of note, and at worst they would find the house burned to a crisp. Nora was optimistic, but dealing with toasted homes and obliterated bodies was all new to her.

The house was intact, though its windows had been smashed and its door booted in. From the looks of it, looters had made the rounds in this neighborhood after everyone had moved out. Broken furniture and ashes were scattered on the wooden floor, but nothing of value had been left.

There was no note in sight. Apparently, the Sayanias had left in a hurry.

Tonan hopped off the cart and ran inside the house. Searching the place for a note was going to be tough, but by the looks of things, if there was one, it's probably gone by now. Tonan lost hope within 20 minutes, and trudged out of the house, defeated.

"Those damn looters took everything.. Destroyed everything.." he mumbled quietly to himself. He clenched his hands into a fist, gradually raising his voice to a loud shout, "Those clocking galdori!" and punched what remained of the door.

There was only the 4 walls left of Tonan's childhood home, his town amidst chaos, and his parents were missing (to him, anyway)

A single tear fell down his cheek. "I will.. I will help take down the bastards.. If it'll be the last thing I do.." He punched the door again.

Nora wanted to tell him to be quiet, but after a surreptitious glance around realized there wasn't a soul- much less a galdor soul- around to hear him.



Nora went to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful, now. Don't make rash decisions. If you really mean it, that's one thing, but if you're just saying it, that's another. Now, do you mean it?"

She was practically asking herself the same thing. Indeed, she had no connection to Dorhaven, but what had happened there had affected her deeply. Hearing about the incident, on the one hand, had engendered that driving need to aid the people of Dorhaven. On the other, seeing the destruction had gone against her galdor sensibilities and bolstered her wick mentality. She now felt as if there were a calling for her to right the wrongs done by her mother's people.

"Do you mean it?" she asked again, thinking to herself, I do.

Tonan sniffed a little and rubbed the tear away.
"Of course I mean it" he uttered, amidst a series of small sharp breaths. "They've destroyed part of Dorhaven, they've forced my parents out of their home.." He coughed a little, from the smoke "I'll probably never see them again.."

He took a small bottle out of his bag and took a swig of water. "All 'cause some golly decided the human population was getting too high
It's about time somethin' happened, ya' know?"

I know that feeling, she thought.



"Oes, I know," Nora replied,"Things are stirrin' up. It's about time I started doing something instead of wandering around. We need to find out what's what and make some connections, figure out where we can help..." She sputtered out. Funds, she had; clue where to start, she had not. "Erm... you have any ideas where we can..." she glanced around conspiratorially, lowering her voice to a whisper,"you know anything about the resistance?"

Tonan sat on the step behind him and took another few swigs of water.
"Yeah, actually" he said while recalling his chat with Stolley at his tavern. "If we're to join, we have to go to Brunnhold. There's a chapter there."
He flicked open his journal. "S'good thing i noted it down, eh?"

She looked around nervously, "Only if you want to get caught and killed for what you know. You'd best erase that little entry," she sighed,"but yes, that's very good to know," she eyed him for a moment. There seemed to be more to this young man than he let on. Her eyes flicked to the smoke still drifting over the town.

"But first we need to do something about that. I came here to help, even just a bit." She hopped back onto her cart,"if you want we can meet up again tomorrow morning and head to Brunnhold, or you can come with me and try and clean things up a bit."

Tonan laughed lightly "i wouldnt keep it there, obviously, I'd erase it when I wouldnt need it." He slipped the journal back into his pocket "I wouldnt leave this alone, anywhere anyway"



"Ah, yeah.." Tonan quickly remembered why he had come here in the first place "I'll come with you to help." He stood back up.

"Alrighty then," She flicked the reins to get the cart moving. She rode at a walking pace so as not to leave Tonan behind. She headed the horse toward the column of smoke, and when they arrived she looked around in awe at the wreckage. There used to be a building here? she wondered. "What in the Circle happened here?" Her eyes wide, she looked through the gloom (for night had fallen) hoping to see a single solitary soul. "Maybe we should try the roads out of town? Seems most people are leaving..."