"Pancakes?"

"Yes, pancakes!" Exclaimed Lawkey, sitting up. "Don't play dumb now!"

"Calm yarself, friend. I'm just teasin' ya." Alviss sat opposite to the human and adjusted the sail. "I know someone well versed in makin' delicacies, but I hadn't tried any. Sweets aint fer me."

The two were still sailing through the middle of Tartarus, to where the brown-haired dwarf's supposed party was docked.

Having met on Sweet Scylla and worked together to save the merfolk from the Golden Garden Guild, the two had left the island together for one reason only, the promise of pancakes.

After reaching the shore of Tartarus and meeting the ghost Hyking, Frido, they had learned of one more thing that connected them both, the hunt for the infamous leviathan.

Although reluctant at first, Lawkey eventually agreed to meet with Alviss' party and learn what they knew about the beast. And as if getting two oversized parrots with one stone, the leviathan's last known whereabouts had been in the very same waters the two were currently sailing through.

However, even while staying vigilant for any clues around, Lawkey still made sure the promise he had been made would be kept.

"You don't eat sweets?! You're really missing out, buddy!" The emerald-eyed human brought his hand down on the boat's edge, rocking the whole thing slightly. "Pancakes are unlike anything you could taste! When they're just hot off the pan, with the butter melting around it, dipped in that sweet sugary syrup…"

"!"

As he trailed off, his softly narrowed eyes grew distanced as saliva began to escape his lips. It took a few moments of Alviss blankly staring at him before Lawkey came back to himself.

"Anyway…" He made a gesture of coughing into his fist, clearing his throat. "Your party has someone from outside of Tartarus who can make pancakes?"

"..." The dwarf blinked a few times, then curled up the corners of his lips slightly. "Nay, it ain't that one of us is from outside of Tartarus, but all of us."

"?!"

"Don't look so surprised, friend. Ya might have been brought up on this continent, but it is rather common for exiles and criminals to be sent here often." Alviss explained matter-of-factly, turning his head to watch the passing trees on land in the distance. The desolate fade and emptiness surrounding the surviving nature simply matched the rest of the continent he was referring to. "We just happened to come here on our own accord."

"Why would you do that?" Asked Lawkey with a raised brow. "There isn't anything good on this continent, nothing but war, death and chaos."

Noticing himself borrowing the words from the Hykings' curse he so despised, the human turned to the other direction of the waters and was met with a similar scenery Alviss was witnessing.

All his life, he had witnessed first hand all that this continent had to offer. During his six years in the Kage village, besides a few incidents, things had been fairly peaceful. However, that was only due to the fact the Shadow clan had been secluded.

Before finding his way into the Kage village, the first twelve years of his life were spent on the battlefield, experiencing loss after loss until nothing had remained.

Nothing but the pursuit of the leviathan who had taken it all away from him.

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Such a place was Tartarus. A continent filled with conflicts and disasters. And to choose to come to it out of one's own accord could have only meant one thing…

"What are you running from?" Lawkey finally asked the dwarf again after a moment of silence between them. "Or rather, who?"

"Tis complicated, friend. Each of us had our own reasons, promises, or responsibilities." Alviss spoke calmly, stroking his beard as his eyes drifted to the usual misty skies. "How much do ya know of the outside world, friend?"

"Not much. Someone tried to drill some information into me as a kid, but I didn't care about places I would likely never get to see." Lawkey exclaimed, then pursed his lips. "That's a lie. I enjoyed listening and learning about different places and races, but didn't make an effort to remember a lot of it. I wanted to focus on my goal, and fantasizing about a different life was growing distracting."

"I understand, friend." Alviss gave him a quick smile, then spoke again. "As ya know, this continent is in such a blunder because none of the Undying Elders choose to meddle or intervene in its affairs. Tartarus is hidden by the thick fog that surrounds it, making leaving almost impossible, but the worst of it all is that it is lawless."

"Are you saying the Undying Elders are present on the outside and keep order?" Lawkey asked, neglecting to mention the fact he had met such a deity himself on this very continent over six years ago.

"Oh, not so, friend." Alviss let out a slight chuckle at the human's sentiment. "Most of the Undying Elders are only remembered through old tales and myths, but everyone knows they are close by, keeping a watchful eye over the other continents."

"Most of them?" The ignorant human raised an eyebrow. "How many of them are there anyway?"

"Well, the myths speak of only five, but the times have come to prove otherwise. There are perhaps eight, even nine if you count the Emerald Star."

"A star is an Undying Elder?"

"So do many believe, friend."

"Is that what you meant by most of them being hidden? That, like this star, there are others who can be seen in some kind of abstract form?" Lawkey furrowed his brows slightly, sinking briefly into his own thoughts. That oversized parrot of a deity looked as human as any other. At least not considering the blinding wings and stupid attire…

"I have not laid eyes on any of them, but I've heard tales of two Undying Elders that remain present. At the very least two that I can confirm for certain exist." Alviss paused, reaching for his belongings and taking out a gourd filled with some ale. After wetting his lips, he went on. "The one behind the Keymen, I'm sure ya've heard of them, their leader is known as the Key Master, the ruler of the world between worlds. The other is the ancient world tree or sacred sapphire tree, K'edemiti. Both of them are believed to be Undying Elders."

"..." Lawkey considered the news for a moment, then asked. "What about an oversized parrot, I mean, a human-like figure with many colored wings and a jester-like appearance?"

"!" Alviss widened his eyes slightly at the explanation, then scoffed dryly. "Sounds like a cloud-brained angel from the Divine clan, friend. They wouldn't come near this continent, where did ya hear about that?"

"Never mind that, I was just curious. So, the outside world has order because everyone knows the Undying Elders exist?" Lawkey sat up again, reaching for his own gourd and taking a sip.

"Religion is a powerful incentive, friend. It drives many to do the right thin', to follow the moral way." The dwarf narrowed his eyes slightly as he stroked his beard. "A deity guides the way, and the followers create order. Didn't the Kage clan have order?"

"..."

It was true. Lawkey had encountered many in the Kage clan that strive for absolute darkness. Although he couldn't understand the concept fully or what would entice them to seek it, it had been a strong driving force for many, especially the Shadow Queen and her royal guard. The very ones who keep order in the clan.

In that way, Lawkey could understand what his dwarf friend was trying to explain. However, he still remembered the twisted devotion one particular priest had for the Eversun Goddess. He figured the deity he had seen on the stained glass was another Undying Elder, and perhaps that priest was in Tartarus for that same twisted take on the religion, for breaking the moral way.

"I'm still baffled by the fact I'm speaking to a wise, old dwarf." Lawkey chuckled slightly, then quickly folded his legs in, grabbed his knees and lowered his head to the wise dwarf. "I look forward to learning more from you, old dwarf."

"Careful, friend, I told ya I'm just in m'prime!" Alviss said with some impatience.

"77 years old is no one's prime, you're about to croak and die soon, buddy." Lawkey raised his head and delivered his line with not the slightest hint of joking.

"We dwarves are longlivin'! One of the races that live the longest, in fact!" Alviss stood up in a frenzy, gesturing with his hands in no way that made sense. "That is why we mature slower than ya humans and why I am indeed in m'prime! Do ya understand now?!"

"Relax, will you, I understand…" Lawkey put up both hands in resignation, his face contorting into a nasty grin. "That seems to be a really sore subject for you, sorry."

"Hah…" Alviss sighed with exasperation before sitting back down. "There are many things you indeed still do not know about the world outside of this continent, friend."

"Well, I am from this shit hole of a continent, what did you expect?"

"Fer ya to be different."

"Alright, alright, sorry. How about you tell me more then? We still have time before we reach that party of yours. How did you all meet? What really brought you all here to Tartarus willingly?"

"..." Staying silent for a few seconds, Alviss looked towards Lawkey again. "For the sake of the others, I will tell you what I do know so you are prepared to meet 'em. Just don' interrupt me so you can understand. Beware however that I do not know everythin' and was only made aware of some details."

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

Lawkey shook his gourd, making sure there was still enough in it to cover the upcoming story. The truth was, what he really wanted to know was why they were all going after the leviathan too.

That was perhaps the very reason he had agreed to join them in the first place.

"I'll start from the beginnin', from the home of the elves, Blumenheim."

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