Laroon - Kirel Connections

     Today I walked into the city. I took a path and cut through the tree tunnel, running my hand along the inside wall side. Standing atop the main staircase, I descended down to the dock. And there I saw him. I rubbed my eyes; I wasn't sure they were being honest. Was this Pantaleon? In the flesh? Skipping rocks out across the water? I thought I had seen him at the meeting in Kirel but he left before I had a chance to speak to him. Our only connection was Adelia, but she's still missing and no one I've talked to has found any sign of her. Some people almost seem to not remember her. I walked up to him. ".Shorah"

     He turned to me and looked at me, squinted for half a moment, then recognized me. "Laroon! How have you been?"

    "I've been well. It's been a while since I've been to the city. You know, I just can't get enough of Negilahn. I love studying the wildlife there. I even built a little hut there! Have you been there yet?"

"No, but it's on my to do list. I've been running through Yeesha's journey. I'm discovering so much about the history down here. The D'ni were incredible!"

    I smiled, remembering when I completed her quest myself. "Yeah. It's good to see you again though, my friend. What's new around here? Have you found any trace of Adelia?"

    Pantaleon pursed his lips and shook his head. "I'm afraid she's still missing. In fact, she's not the only one missing these days."


    "Oh? Who else?" my eyebrows raised.

    "Yeah, Dean and Esto are all I know of. I mean they haven't been around for a while. But perhaps there are others. The other explorers here, we don't know how many there are, perhaps a couple hundred? But it might be useful to take a tally of them so we can keep tabs on one another easier."

    "Buddy system, eh?" I replied.

    "Exactly," he got more serious. "People go off, and we don't know if they're still well, taking a vacation, or if they're in trouble."

    "Yeah, maybe we should bring that up sometime."

    "Look. I'd love to chat but we should really be talking elsewhere. I have my notes back at the apartment. Let's go there to catch up."