Sorcerer… Cyborg???

[Silane, what was that? A threat or is it just telling me to admire its very shiny, very sharp teeth?] Kothar backed up a little, a strand of Spatial Mana at the ready to send to the artifact.

[I need for him to say a little more, look, at least that trident is still on its back and not pointing at you. That should count for something.] Silane replied, as she waited for the reptilian to say something other than the initial hiss.

The reptilian stepped forward, pulling its robes up away from its hands, revealing densely muscled forearms, covered in the same orange scales that covered the rest of its body.

It stood, arms outstretched to either side, palms empty and facing upwards. Its muzzle like mouth was now closed, its scarlet tongue darted in and out of the air.

[I don't think I need you to translate that, Silane. It means no threat, thankfully.] Kothar's tense muscles relaxed, but he still kept a grip on the artifact, and kept a strand of Spatial Mana ready. After all, one could never be too careful.

The reptilian let out another series of hisses and pulled a peculiar metallic box from the depths of its robes. It was covered in an angular pattern, that was all right angles and thick lines, engraved into the surface of the dull gray material.

[So, what did it say?] Kothar asked Silane, by now she had to have a good idea of what the reptilian was saying. But Silane was silent for a long while, only speaking after a long pause.

[He said, 'I am Sandstrider, you are my quarry. Surrender your weapons immediately.'] Silane paused for a long while before she continued.

[I'm sorry, Kothar, I thought we could take this chance, it was illogical and now we're in danger.] Silane said timidly, clearly embarrassed.

[Hold on, this doesn't make sense, his body language doesn't match what he's saying.] Kothar responded, watching as the reptilian pulled a Pebble out from within his robes, and placed it inside the box, before beckoning to Kothar with a clawed hand.

Kothar walked closer, and saw that pieces of polished wood had been used to make many slots into which one could place a Pebble, and the reptilian had placed his on the right side. Kothar followed his lead and placed his device within the box, taking care to place his on the opposite end.

Snap. Sandstrider closed the box with a loud snap, and gave Kothar another tooth filled smile, which was uncanny, given the many pointed teeth that it revealed.

He drew a familiar looking cylindrical device from within his robes, twisting many rings along their length, before nodding to Kothar.

[Kothar! That looks just like the translating device that Xerev had.] Silane exclaimed, showing Kothar a projection of the device that Xerev had used.

[I know, he must have bought it from the Pebble Marketplace, it makes sense that he'd need something since he's removed the Pebbles from the equation.] Kothar was anxious to see what Sandstrider would do next, but was still slightly on edge, he wasn't sure what to make of the odd reptilian.

"Apologies for the deception, but I could not reveal my true intentions without shielding any Pebbles nearby." Sandstrider gave Kothar a deep bow, revealing a series of stubby horns that ran down the back of his head, creating a small crest. 

"I am Kothar. Can you explain more?" Kothar returned Sandstrider's bow, he was eager not to offend the powerful Freeman.

"Of course, young artificer. Come, let us sit. This will take some time." Sandstrider said solemnly, before walking over to the flat rocks that Kothar had set around the fire that he used for light and warmth within the hollowed out willow trunk.

The reptilian settled himself comfortably onto the stone, then drew a long ivory pipe from inside his robes, creating a spark by rubbing two of his curved black claws together.

"Why did you lock the Pebbles away?" Kothar asked Sandstrider, watching as the reptilian closed both his clear inner eyelid and scaled outer eyelid and drew in a long breath from the pipe, before exhaling an enormous cloud of green smoke.

[Kothar! The smoke, there is so much mana inside it!] Silane suddenly interrupted, Sandstrider was drawing in massive amounts of mana as he smoked the pipe, just the residual mana that he exhaled was far greater than the atmosphere on Atla.

[I know, but first let's see what he has to say about the Pebbles. We can ask him what he's smoking later.] Kothar hushed Silane, he had been wary of the Pebble ever since he had run into the mantis by 'chance'.

"This Pebble. It is a most blessed item. I have travelled far beyond my wildest dreams, I have seen the most wonderful sights and met all manner of creatures. But along with the blessing, it carries a great curse. Many of the lands I found, I led ravenous empires to pillage, many of the sights I have seen, were overrun by curious sightseers, and of the amazing creatures I met, there were many whose life I took with my own hands." Sandstrider spoke slowly, with long pauses between each word, as if it took him a great amount of effort to speak at all.

Sandstrider saw that Kothar's face was still filled with curiosity, and so he continued to speak.

"The Pebble has an ancient history, the oldest records I have seen even make mention of this device. Without it, the myriad planes would have never flourished. Perhaps my people would still be living in the warm caverns near the Earthfire, ignorant of the wider world. Sandstrider looked at Kothar with his shining green eyes, they sparkled in the red glow, reflecting the flickering flames.

"You must be careful of to whom you repeat what I am going to tell you, young Kothar." Sandstrider's mouth hardened into a firm line, and he crossed his arms, setting his ivory pipe aside.