Just Looking Around

[Albert Wesker]

He staggered unevely through the gate and out onto grass, dropping to one knee under the bright, natural sunlight. One hand on his face, over his eyes, the other loosely wrapped about an orb of Omnilium, faintly swirling and spinning, much like the wheels of his bicycle, which was nowhere in sight. Shortly before he had passed through the portal, he had gotten a sinking feeling that trying to take his wheeled conveyance with him wouldn't quite work out right, somehow. He didn't know why, but with his already present momentum, he didn't have time to fully stop, only to hop off of the bike and dismiss it, back to the Omnilium he had summoned it from.

The awkward change in momentum and footing, combined with his sudden rush through the portal, left him feeling heavily disoriented. For a split-second it seemed like he was at Marineford again, watching Whitebeard throw the very world into chaos, shaking and quaking the entire island and even the sea, turning the world upside down. And then it was passed, and he was on firm ground. Firm, solid, visible ground.

He remained still for several long moments to get his bearings before he rose back up to stand again. He gave the area about him a quick look over. Grass, those peculiar, huge stones standing upright, and farther off, a forest and other details which faded into the distance. And the distance was what had the majority of his attention. He could see, not a truly unreasonable distance off, what looked to be a small village or town. Farther off, barely visible in the distance, were a number of other such villages, and standing tall above everything was what looked to be a large city built onto the slopes of a mountain.

Details were hard to make out from distances.

There really wasn't much point in just standing around staring at nothing in particular, though. Dropping his gaze to the Omnilium in his hand, he pondered as to why he hadn't been able to bring Ao Chari through the portal with him. Trying to think about just summoning it again on this side of the portal produced a sharp, unpleasant sensation that told him it might not be a good idea to actually try. Turning his mind to other things that he could use in its place produced no such effect, and so he let his mind wander aimlessly, thinking of a suitable transportation means.

The scenery and the general feel of the place soon made up his mind for him, and he focused in his mind on summoning a horse. The Omnilium in his hand started to glitter more noticably, and he tossed it upon the ground to ready it for its reshaping into what he needed, sticking his hands in his pockets as he waited.

[Albert Wesker]

As much as he tried to focus on his new summoning, his efforts continued to elude him. That he had never seen a horse in person didn't help his efforts any. Trying to imagine one large enough to support someone of his own unnatural height didn't help any. "Ahhhh....." He let out a long sigh, shaking his head, just about ready to give up on trying to summon anything for now and relegate himself to walking just to simplify things and spare the headache, and was just bending down to retrieve the Omnilium and re-absorb it or whatever it was he could apparently do with it, when he was stopped by something he hadn't expected to hear.

Not yet, at least.

"Excuse me!"

The voice came from behind him, in the direction of the portal. Scooping up the Omnilium, Kuzan spun on one heel as he rose back up to stand, searching about for whoever it was that had called out. It didn't take long to spot the poor man. Sprawled on the ground, clearly having just come through the portal himself, he didn't seem to worse for the wear, but seemed out of breath and agitated by something.

Closing his hand about the Omnilium, the former Admiral slowly crushed and absorbed it back into himself, not really understanding how he knew to do it. "Can I help you...?" he asked after a moment.

"I....I hope so!" The man slowly pushed himself to his feet, brushing grass and dust from his clothes. On a closer look, he was barely an adult, and were it not for his voice and the faint hint of a beard he might have been mistaken as a much younger boy. "Ah...ah...." Taking several deep breaths to attempt and calm his breathing, the young man spoke up. "Are you a Prime, by any chance?" The way he asked the question almost made it seem like he already knew the answer, but Kuzan could only stare quizzically back.

"A...Prime?" The confusion in his voice made it clear.

"Ah...my apologies, you must be new here, is that right?" When Kuzan nodded in the affirmative, the young man went on, seeming just slightly disappointed, but only for a moment. "Well, anyone who is summoned here by Omni directly is called a Prime. Or...I think that's how it works. I'm pretty sure, anyway. But I can tell you more about that later, maybe; right now I could really use some help and I don't really have much time!" He looked back over his shoulder, toward the portal, and shook his head, taking another step away from it. "I'm not really much of a fighter or tht good at travelling open country like this." He gestured here at the general landscape about the portal. "Normally I could handle myself." He paused, looking away as if in embarressment. "Well.....well enough, anyway..." The last part was mumbled under his breath.

"But! I've got some very important items that I need to get back to Dalaran! It wouldn't normally be an issue, but I think there might be someone following me." The man sounded slightly paranoid, but it wasn't as if Kuzan couldn't appreciate being worried in such a situation. Even if you were only carrying a few small items, if they are as valuable as was apparent, then it would inhibit full combat capability, trying to keep them undamaged and safe. And that was only if you were even a skilled combatant. This young man apparently wasn't.

"I think I understand." Kuzan rested one hand on his chin in thought, the other lazily stuck in his pocket. "But why would you tell me about any of this...?"

"Well..." The young man faltered, clearly at a loss. He fidgeted for a moment, before he said all at once, "Usually Primes are powerful enough to handle a situation like this pretty easily and I was hoping you might be able to help me out!"

Letting out a light chuckle, Kuzan shook his head with one hand over his eyes. "Ah...is that it." He had suspected it might be something to that effect. He mulled the prospect over for a few moments, thinking about it. It wouldn't be such a bad idea to help out with something so small, and it wasn't like he had any idea where he was going in the first place. If nothing else, he'd get directions to a city or town of some sort out of this deal. As long as they didn't run into too much trouble along the way it wouldn't be a bad arrangement at all. "I guess...it wouldn't hurt to lend a hand."

The young man's relief was almost tangible. Apparently whatever he thought was following him must have been pretty bad. "Thank you! When we get to the city, I'll try and find some way to pay back the favor, if I can!"

Kuzan held up both of his hands with a dismissive gesture. "Oh, no, there's no need for that. Getting to the city itself should be enough. Maybe some information on the way."

"Ah, that's right! You're new here, after all! Well, I'll answer whatever I can along the way and when we get there!" He reached behind him and picked up a large pack that had until then been obscured by his frame, and slung it over one shoulder. With the way he was carrying it, it was no wonder he had fallen over the way he had when coming through the portal. "Well, uh, follow me, I guess!"

With a gesture to lead the way, Kuzan set off after the young man at a lazy strolling walk.

[Albert Wesker]

After only a few minutes, the young man started to look uneasy again, and took a long, searching look back toward the portal. "Uh....I don't want to be any trouble, but could you summon some kind of mount or something?" The urgency in his voice made Kuzan halt and turn back to look at the portal himself.

"Why in such a hurry?"

The young man fidgeted. "I....I may have dealt with someone unsavory to get the items I'm transporting." He shook his head. "I-It's nothing illegal! It's just the one who deals in them is....he's not a very good businessman. Sometimes he send out some of his....workers to "reclaim" things people have purchased so he can sell them to other people who are willing to pay a better price."

It reminded Kuzan all too much of pirates, or just plain thieves. Either way, now he understood just why the young man seemed so nervous. "Ah...I see. Well....I'll see what I can do."

"If I might, I'd suggest something that can fly! Dalaran is, er....a floating city."

The dumbfounded look on his face only lasted for a second or two, but Kuzan was extremely confused long after he shifted his mind to the task at hand. "So...something that can fly, huh...? Any suggestions?"

"Just one moment!" Rummaging around for several seconds, the young man produced a book from within his travelling pack and rapidly flipped through it. "Where....where....ah, here it is!" Holding the open book out to the taller man, he indicated one of the creatures on the page. "Try this! They're powerful enough to support two riders, even in flight, most of the time!"

One hand on his chin, scratching at his faint beard, he observed the creature within the book. It certainly looked strange. Something like...a half-lion and half-eagle. Could be some kind of creature a Mythical Zoan user might turn into. It wouldn't have been unheard of. "Oh, my...that looks like quite a monstrous beast..." The thing looked very powerful, and if its wings were as strong as the rest of it looked, it was no doubt that it could carry two passengers.

"Oh, yes! They're very fierce if angered or threatened. They're very difficult to train, but you should be able to summon one that's already loyal or at least obedient if you focus on it. I...I would really advise you to do that."

"I can see why." Standing back up, Kuzan stuck both hands in his pockets. "Alright....it should take a few minutes to summon, right?"

"I think so, yes. I'm...not really sure how summoning works, though. Only Primes can summon things, so I don't really know personally, but...I think it varies on how complex or large what you're summoning is how long it takes. I know some people who have been around longer than me and might know more, though!"

"Well, let's get started, then. Keep an eye out in case any uninvited guests show up." And Kuzan put his mind to work, focusing on the creature in the book, the short passage beside it, and what the young man had told him about them. Making sure the one he summoned was loyal was going to be the chief challenge here, he suspected.

[Albert Wesker]

The entire process took several minutes, though with the way the young traveller kept fidgeting and looking about it seemed much longer. But eventually, Kuzan's work paid off and the swirling colors of Omnilium came to life, slowly expanding and growing more solid as what appeared to be a large cocoon of iridescent colors. It grew, slowly but surely, until it was more like a great huge egg, that at its tallest point was nearly as tall as Kuzan himself.

After another several minutes, the "egg" solidified and began to slowly crack, much like an actual shell, before crumbling altogether. In the vanishing Omnilium remnants there stood a great gryphon. Its plumage and feathers were the color of ice, the fur on its rear half the color of fallen snow. It stretched hugely, showing its impressive physique, before rounding on Kuzan with a fierce glare in its steely blue eyes. "Oh, my....quite the fierce beast, indeed."

"Well...the fact that it hasn't attacked yet is a good sign. I think you probably got it right!" The young man seemed pleased at this development, but soon his gladness faded as he hurriedly stowed the book away again. "Now, uh...could we get going?"

"Is whoever might be after you really that bad?" The question was mostly rhetorical, but the sudden silence caught him unprepared. Turning to look at his companion for the moment, the former Admiral quirked abrow at his expression. He was just sort of...standing there, staring back toward the portal.

"Y-Yeah..." He finally managed to say. "They...kind of are." And he pointed.

Turning to look back at the portal, Kuzan was dumbfounded all over again. There were three individuals standing near the portal. Two of them seemed human enough and didn't stand out as anything special. Their only oddity was the obscuring hoods they both wore. Both of them had a sword and at one hip and a bow in hand, but didn't seem especially ready to jump right into an attack. If anything, they almost seemed to be hanging back.

It was the third figure that had the majority of his attention drawn to it. It wasn't as tall as some others he had seen in his time, but it still stood nearly a head above the other two beside it. It was also shrouded in a hood, and a long, concealing cloak, but that did little to hide the ominous horns curling from beneath the hood. "Would those happen to be the ones you thought might be after you?"

"Y-Yeah..." For a moment, it almost seemed like he had more he wanted to add, but he was either trying to find the right words or hesitating to spit it out.

"....I think you might want to get on your way and get outta here." Drawing his hands from his pockets, Kuzan flexed his fingers, cracking his knuckles. "I don't need the details right now, but...I get the feeling I'm missing something here."

"I'm sorry. It's... It's very sensitive information. I can't...say anything. Not here, anyway. I will tell you, i-if I can! But....later, at Dalaran." Hastily, he scrambled aboard the back of the Gryphon.

As the gyphon beat its wings to ready for takeoff, but tallest of the three figures let out an inhuman growl that carried even over the not-inconsiderable distance. And immediately the two at its side brought up their bows, pulling an arrow from a quicer at their waist.

As the gryphon left the ground, Kuzan slowly bent down and pulled a handful of grass from the ground.

The third figure, who seemed to be the leader of the small group, looked quickly from their fleeing target and Kuzan.

With a flick of his wrist, the grass was scattered to the air. A quick breath froze them solid, leaving a long, jagged blade of ice encompassing them all. It gleamed white and cold as Kuzan caught it out of the air, swung it once, and then held it point-first toward the group of three.

With only a few seconds to make his decision, the leader of the group made his call. "SHOOT THE PRIME!"

In the blink of an eye there were two bows trained on him, and with the sharp twang of bowstrings they were loosed. Without time to try and dodge around them properly, Kuzan did the only thing open to him that would guarantee avoiding them. He leaped straight up.

[Albert Wesker]

His jump barely carried him out of the way in time. One arrow whisked through where his torso had been but a moment before, and the second put a hole through the tail of his long coat. He had managed to avoid an injury, but it was cause for concern; he should have been able to dodge something like arrows with ease, and not even be anywhere near where they had hit. Come to think of it, he should have been able to jump a lot higher than he was, too.

"Oh, boy...things just keep getting better..." he grumbled to himself, turning his attention back to the group on the ground. Already the two archers had more arrows nocked and ready to fire, and just as his momentum failed completely and he started to fall, they did just that. His first reaction was to simply use his Logia power and let the arrows harmlessly pass through him.

But it didn't work.

He panicked for just a split-second, long enough that any chance to try and react to the incoming arrows was lost. One grazed his left arm, the other nearly put a hole in his right. The wound wasn't great, but the stinging in his left arm brought him back to his senses. He was far from helpless, even without the majority of his powers. He took hold of his icy blade in both hands, and as he fell to the earth again he readied himself to act immediately.

He hit the ground and immediately bolted straight for the group of three, though one of them was missing. A quick glance told him that the leader of the bunch had retreated a short distance to pursue the fleeing young man. It wasn't likely he'd catch him on foot, but if he knew where he was going...well, there was a chance.

Dashing straight at someone with a drawn bow wasn't the smartest tactic, and though he didn't have much experience dealing with archers, he knew enough about projectiles in general to have an idea. Rifles and even pistols were generally much more difficult to dodge due to simple speed on their projectiles. It shouldn't be impossible to dodge an arrow. Or two.

....well, hopefully, anyway.

He made a quick hop to one side to throw off the aim of the two archers, and immediately bolted back the opposite direction, skidding along the ground nearly as a blur. He launched himself back at the two. They just had their arrows trained on him when he reached them.

A sharp cry of pain sounded loud and clear, one of the two archers being knocked flat from the sheer momentum behind the strike of ice that left a bleeding wound in his side. It wasn't a fatal wound on its own, but it would keep him out of the fight. The other man, having another few seconds to spare, threw his bow aside in a panic, reaching for his sword. A swift, lunging kick sent him sprawling on the ground, the breath knocked from him. A quick blow from the jagged blade of ice to his sword arm ensured he wouldn't be a threat in the immediate future.

Turning away from the two incapacitated ambushers, Kuzan scanned the area for his next target. The larger hooded figure was still pursuing the young man, and seemed to be hurling some sort of projectiles at the gryphon, preventing it from making a clean getaway. Some sort of energy bolts, from the look of things.

Breaking into as swift a run as he could with the unwieldy prosthesis that made up part of his leg, Kuzan sprinted toward the hooded figure. There was no small amount of distance to cover, and he wasn't positive he could cross it before he got in a lucky shot. But he didn't exactly have many options. He could have just left the situation alone, of course, but that wouldn't have sat very well with him, even if he hadn't already said he would help in just such a situation as this.

He hadn't been expecting anything of this sort, and had honestly been expecting the man to just be paranoid.

But that would have just been too easy.

[Albert Wesker]

He was still well out of range when what he was half-expecting and yet fully dreading happened. One of the energy bolts clipped the gryphon, sending a shower of feathers into the air and producing a terrible shriek, more of surprise and anger than actual pain, but all the same the beast wobbled crazily in the air, looking for all the world as if it was about to lose all of its flight strength and come crashing down to earth. And yet, somehow, the injury was either minor enough to not interfere greatly or the beast was powerful enough to control its descent.

Its flight path utterly ruined, and unable to regain its altitude under the threat of being dealt a solid blow, it glided down toward the earth. The pursuer slowed its pace, ceasing the barrage it had kept up, confident it had its prey within easy reach.

A terrible mistake, in hindsight.

In his slowed pace, Kuzan came crashing into him from behind, sending the strange being sprawling horns over elbows onto the grass. Planting himself solidly in between the strange figure and the gryphon, who stoon on indignantly, he tried to catch his breath from the sudden sprint and exertion. Without his full strength, even something as trivial as that was quite a task!

A deep rumble came from within the hood as the downed figure pounded a fist into the grassy earth. "Imbeciles! They underestimated a Prime again!" Slowly drawing up, he planted his feet on the earth, rising up to stand. "I should kill them myself just for sheer uselessness, if they aren't already..." While his face wasn't visible, it was clear he turned his gaze on the interloper in his pursuit. "AND YOU! Why are you even involved in this? What would a Prime have to do with this in first place?"

Kuzan was taken aback by the sudden question, and could only shrug, a blank look on his face. "I was asked to help the young man avoid some pursuers."

A mirthless laugh greeted his lame response. "Is THAT all! He didn't bother to tell you WHY we were after him, I suppose?"

It was true enough. It had bothered him how vague the request was, and how quick the young man had wanted to be off. That this strange man was bringing it up only made him more curious. "Well, then suppose you explain the situation?"

"HA!" There was a rustling of cloth as what looked to be a scroll was pulled from a pouch at his belt. "This is an inventory of what your friend over there has with him. It's very expensive merchandise. Useless individually, or to most people, but the right people could produce some very...interesting effects with certain combinations." The scroll crinkled as his fist closed around it tighter. "It's very illegal in the quantities it was purchased in, especially in the hands of mages."

"That, of course...just makes it more expensive." The scroll was shoved back in its pouch, and the figure lifted an arm to point an accusing finger at the young man still astride the gryphon. "And HE tried to steal the whole lot! Cast some simple spell to blind us and took off!" An exasperated sigh followed his statement. "I'm honestly asahmed it took us so long to catch him as it did. It's so hard to find good help these days, though. Taking nearly half a day to catch an apprentice, for Omni's sake...it's laughable."

"Well, well..." Now he had an understanding of the situation in full. Or, at least, as far as he knew it. "That explains a little more...but..."

"But why would he want it in the first place, right?" A cackle came from the man. "Lots of reasons. Those 'interesting' effects I mentioned are one. Though there are certain other ingredients to be used that can produce more normal effects, of course. Much less illegal substances, but to get a hold of these in particular....well."

"N-No!"

The sharp outburst from behind caused Kuzan to look over his shoulder, to see the young apprentice dashng forward. "There really is a good reason for everything! Even...even the lies, I swear! It..." He hesitated.

"BAH! I don't care what reasons you might have, or what lies you've been spilling!" Flames burst to life around the hands of the man who seemed to be a black market dealer of some sort. "I just want my payment. Now."

"Oh, my..." A difficult situation to be in the middle of, to be sure. On the one hand, both men were technically in the wrong. One was a thief and knowingly transporting illegal goods...the other was selling those goods and apparently willing to kill to get them back or get his payment. Neither side was going to be particularly good to stand with in this situation...

[Albert Wesker]

"Well....I can't say which of you two has the better motive..." Without knowing exactly what was going on with each side, all he could go on was what had been said. And that was no doubt full of at least some lies or witholding of all of the information. "...but I can say one thing." He shook his head, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh. "I'm not really the one to make that kind of call, regardless."

"Ha! Now you know the whole story, you realize it's none of your business, is that it?"

"No, not really. It became my business when I got attacked." Almost as soon as he said it he sheepishly rubbed at the back of his head. "Though, I suppose...I was already involved at that point..."

"I don't CARE!"

Lifting his hands in a gesture of surrender, Kuzan shook his head slowly. "Alright, keep calm, now... Just answer me one question."

A snort answered him, but there was no denial.

"Is whatever was stolen really so valuable you'd chase him down so earnestly and try to kill to get it back, if necessary?"

Another snort met his query, this one much more aggressive. "I don't see how that's any of your business, either. But suffice to say, I've got a bit of a reputation to uphold. Or....a reputation I'm trying to make. Letting little upstarts like him make a fool of me won't exactly help with that."

"Oh, my...I see. So that's the way it is..." Slowly, his ice saber lifted and he jabbed its point toward the "merchant". "I cannot say that this is the right way, but....just working for your reputation doesn't sit well with me, personally." He dropped the saber back to his side. "So I think I'll have to stop you if you don't give up and let this go."

The laugh that met his answer nearly made him step back. It wasn't really that funny, was it...?

"Oh! I get it! You think I'll just go and leave now, just because you asked, is that it? Because you handled those two idiots and think I'll go down just the same if I don't?"

"Not really..."

"Well, tough! I'm not going anywhere until I get what I came here for, one way or the other!"

It didn't really look like just talking things through was going to take care of the situation. It rarely ever did. Especially not with someone being so...immature. But, maybe there was some other solution he could-

"If I can get past you, I won't need to waste any more time here. That idiot can't get away on his own!"

The hooded man leapt forward, the suddenness of the movement catching Kuzan offguard. He was nearly past him before the ice man could bring his ice saber to bear. It came up in a flash of cold light, glinted once, and with a resounding crack, made contact with one of the peculiar horns emerging from the man's hood. The blow was weak and barely served to knock the man off-balance, but it gave Kuzan time to act properly, bringing his free arm whipping around. As the man started to bolt toward his target again, a faint mist of ice flowed from Kuzan's hand. "Ice Pick!"

Caught blindside by the attack, the man was struck several times, his cloak being well-perforated and his hood all but torn completely apart. Either by good fortune or sheer dumb luck, he managed to escape actual injury to his body, only incurring minor scrapes as he hurled himself aside to avoid further exposure to attack. That he was already barely within the attack's range had likely aided his escape from injury.

"I wasn't planning on taking any lives today, you know....I'm still not, really." Slowly, Kuzan lowered his hand back to his side, but this time kept on alert for any more sudden mischief. "It might be for the best if you....uh.... If you..... Ah....I forget."

[Albert Wesker]

For a long time, no one moved. Faint traces of cold mist still streamed from Kuzan's hand, but all he did was watch and wait.

And finally, the downed man rose back to his feet, slowly and unevenly. Without his hood it was revealed that the horns that had been seen were merely for show. Despite the shallowness of the blow that had knocked his balance aside, the struck horn had nearly been shorn through completely, and now they were lopsided upon his head. Merely a tool used for intimidation, perhaps, or something equally silly. "Fine. I'm done." He brushed off his clothing of grass and dirt with all the dignity he could manage, and nearly ripped the false horns from his head, tossing them down in the grass with his ruined cloak. "But just remember one thing: I don't like to be cheated. And I don't forget a face."

He turned and took off in a quick run. "So you had best be on watch if you pass through my territory again. Both of you."

It was fairly obvious to hear and see the man as he ran off the threat was almost entirely empty. He probably wouldn't be any more trouble unless he had the chance to get a real jump on them. Kuzan was also quite assured that even if did get such a chance he probably wouldn't take it on his own. "Well, well..." With a hissing noise, the ice sword in his hand rapidly melted, dripping onto the grass as the now-damp blades of grass fluttered away in a breeze. "That was quite an experience."

"That went a lot better than I was expecting it to..." It was the apprentice behind him. "I thought for sure I was done for when he tried to just go around you."

Though he didn't want to admit it, it was just as much luck as skill on his own part. If he'd missed with that first blow or if even a single ice shard had gone anywhere else, he just might have made it past. But that wasn't something to worry about. Chance was all fine and good when it was in the past, and even better when it was in your favor, but thinking too hard about it...well, that was just silly.

"Well, then..." Turning about to face the apprentice, his hands slowly slid into his pockets as he regarded the young man with an unreadable look on his face. He was debating whether to carry on and finish helping the man back to....Dalaran, was it? Part of him wanted to just finish what he had said he would do, but a part of him rationalized that now he should be out of danger and could get there just fine on his own. Given that he had witheld and twisted so much information from him to get his help in the first place only complciated things more.

The look on his face must have carried the wrong message, as after only a few seconds the young apprentice spoke up nervously. "L-Let me explain everything, now. The truth, this time, I guess...." He seemed miserable as he paused, before continuing. "The...items and ingredients are for research into a certain field that hasn't produced any results yet, but there are other applications for it that...are very dark and evil magic."

"I thought that...if I just stole it, and then came across someone willing to help me get to Dalaran quickly, I could get past the guards and anyone too inquisitive to what I was carrying, maybe...if the urgency was enough..."

Clearly he didn't really understand how illegal goods really worked, if that was what he thought about all of this. "That really wouldn't have worked, anyway."

"I...I know. I guess I knew from the beginning, but I was trying to carry on the work of my instructor. He made a mistake working with this stuff, and....bad things happened."

Shaking his head, Kuzan tried his best to dismiss it. "I'll prtend not to know about the illegal goods, I suppose, and let you worry about that on your own....if you'll still give me directions to that city...Dalaran, was it?"

It was hard to tell if you young man was grateful or scared.

[Albert Wesker]

"Uh... D-Directions to Dalaran, right...." The poor man fidgeted and looked away, mumbling to himself, words lost in the faint breeze. Adjusting the straps holding his backpack, he finally turned back. "I... I don't think I should. It just..."

Though he was dreading the apparently inevitable response that would no doubt leave him to wander aimlessly or turn back through the portal he'd just come through, the former Admiral's expression remained impassive.

"I.... It's a city of mages, after all. I don't really think there's anything you would really need there." The slow, fidgety nature of his words spoke volumes more than the words themselves. He was just looking for excuses now that the danger had passed. That Kuzan didn't even know what a "mage" was didn't really give him any way to counter the argument that there was actually something he needed in the mage city, but it didn't mean he felt any better about not getting directions. A city was a city, whether it was one of mages or not.

"There are othercities and towns around here, too, so...you should be able to find one of them easily enough. Just...just be careful as you go." Backing up slowly, the apprentice turned on his heel and started to rapidly stride away, his head hunched low and looking equal parts ashamed, afraid, and glad to be leaving.

With a deep sigh, the ice man shook his head, slowly pacing to a nearby boulder to take a seat. And he simply sat there, resting his elbows on his knees, and staring blankly out across the landscape. It was true enough that he could see for a great distance, and it wouldn't be too difficult to find his way to a different town....if he was in the mood to go for a stroll. But he really just wasn't up to it.

He debated for a while if he should simply turn around and head back through the portal and try his luck with one of the others. It wasn't as if he could have any worse luck than he had already had with his first try. Getting wrapped up in some kind smuggling attempt wasn't exactly what he would call a warm welcome, after all.

He gave the portal, a short way off behind him, a long and hard look, scratching at the growing beard on his chin. His luck hadn't been stellar so far, but...

The griffon he had summoned suddenly loomed beside him, giving him a none-too-gentle shove to the shoulder with its beak. Turning to look at the beast, Kuzan let out an amused chuckle at the look on its face. Full of pride, indignation, and looking distinctly upset with its summoner. Placing a hand on the creature's neck, Kuzan gave it a tentative, affectionate pat, slowly rising to his feet. The whole situation had been a little too much for him, and earnestly looking at what he had been somehow convinced into using as transportation finally convinced him.

Enough of this place was enough, and despite being here for only a few minutes, it had been enough.

He turned back toward the portal that had brought him here, adjusting his coat, before before sticking his hands into his pockets and setting off back toward the portal at a swift walk.