First things first

Cindy was still holding onto Angelo, quivering with fear, but was slowly starting to relax. She was just taking this in, they could both see the smoldering rubble and pieces of glass made from the intense heat from the explosion. Angelo's eyes looked to her. "Are you okay, Cindy? They didn't hurt you did they?" There were several burning pieces of rubble nearby, making this reality all the more apparent. She smiled and shook her head. "I am okay, just..just a little shook is all. Well, that and hungry." He chuckled as he gently set her down on the sand beside them, looking around a moment. "Well, I need to check on Slyka and the villagers first. After that, we can worry about getting you some food. Is that is okay with you?" She blushed as he expressed concern for her, but her look changed to bewilderment when he said that name. "Who is Slyka?" He looked to her. "Well, she was the Chieftain's daughter. She told me you were in the village, and asked me to save her people. I, I did not know her father had been corrupted by some outside source. It is not clear what caused this, but I will do what I can to get to the bottom of it." Angelo was a little excited by the prospect of handling a real mysterious adventure, but it was troubling for now. She looked down before looking up to him. "He had been talking a lot to himself before you arrived. He spoke of a prophecy, that a tall man with strange abilities would take his people from him. What scared me most was the look in his eyes when he said, that I was nothing more than bait to lure you here." She let out a trembling breath. "I, I was so scared. Scared that you wouldn't come, that he was just a madman, and worse still, that you wouldn't come at all." She started to cry again. "I am sorry. I keep needing your help, and what's worse is that I was used as bait to lure you into this trap." He knelt down beside her and cupped her left cheek with his right hand. "This isn't your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself." He brushed away her tears before continuing. "I will come to your aid as many times as I need to. I was happy to help." She sniffled before nodding slightly. She turned her head a little to nuzzle his hand as she said. "Mm, I guess that means I am rather lucky." Her score ticked up to 160 before she continued to speak. "I may not know much about you, but I know you are sweet, charming and strong." She turned to kiss his cheek gently as her score ticked up to 165. "I will wait here. You should check on Slyka and the villagers." He blushed, feeling a little overwhelmed by her words and the surprising kiss to his cheek. "Okay, I will try to make it brief." She nodded before closing her eyes.

He made his way through the burnt rubble, avoiding the shards of glass in his path while making his way towards where Slyka had sent up that fireball earlier. He hadn't noticed the sand dunes around the village before, well, there had been buildings in the way prior. Upon reaching the top of the dune, he was surprised to see a few storage buildings, shops, and roughly 15 villagers close together, most of these villagers looked rather frightened, likely from the explosion. Slyka was standing off to the side, trying to keep everyone calm, or at least, that is what it looked like from this distance. He lifted a hand to wave, and several of the villagers gasped while others murmured. Slyka looked confused before looking in his direction, a big smile spread across her face. She waved to him, those villagers looked bewildered before starting to relax. She walked over to him, once she was in earshot she said. "What happened? We heard a terrible sounding explosion." He sighed before looking down. "I, am pretty sure you expected your father to be killed." She tilted her head slightly, but nodded, saying. "He wasn't acting like himself." He sat down before her on that dune. "Before I ended his suffering and his Spearmen, he had summoned a black totem. I think it was made of obsidian stone. A strange voice came from it, it built up power before blowing up your village. I, I am so sorry." Slyka's eyes widened. "Obsidian? No, no totem should be made of this. A totem like that would call voices of demons and evil spirits." He looked back towards the village before looking back to her. "I do not know if there is any of it left, but I promise you that is the truth. He was talking to himself before we fought and my friend said, he had spoken of my coming." She looked down a moment, obviously lost in thought. "The spirits told me the taint of this land would be cleansed after your battle. I had wished it had not taken my father, but it needed to be done." Tears were building in her eyes as she turned away from him. "Thank you, for all you have done. I am not sure how if ever we can repay you." He watched her a moment, he took her hand gently with his and squeezed it lightly. "Don't worry about that. If I can help, just let me know." He looked a bit to the side, he could see the villagers were looking around still looking a little confused. "You have a good heart, and the strength to lead your people." She looked to her people then back to him. "I do not know how true that is, but, I will do all I can for them." She sniffled softly before looking into his eyes. "I..I am sure it is too much to ask for you to stay, but, will you at least visit?" Those tears that had been welling up were starting to subside. "I think I can do that." He opened his inventory and pulled out the Hearthstone, it was covered with a soft green moss, with brown runes, it was surprisingly small, roughly the size of his palm. He used Observe.

Observe:

Hearthstone. Unique soulbound item of Rare Quality. This item has two functions, setting a waypoint and teleporting to and from an existing waypoint. Currently 2 waypoints may be set. Teleportation will set a temporary waypoint at the users current point of teleportation. Returning waypoint will be removed if illusion barrier is left by other means. Materials: Earth Mother's Stone engraved with powerful Dwarven runes. Durability Indestructible.

(Note: This item cannot be improved through crafting. If a waypoint is set inside an illusion barrier, that illusion barrier cannot be accessed by anyone other than the hearthstone user and their party. Each teleportation to and from a waypoint can only be done outside of combat and cannot be performed under duress. Teleportation requires 1 second of channeling. Party members must be touching the user to join in the teleportation process. Up to 4 party members may be teleported at a time.)

His eyes widened after reading all that. He hadn't expected to receive a soulbound item, at least, not so soon. Granted it only really meant he couldn't get rid of it, but still that likely meant it was important. He spoke without thinking. "Oh, wow." Slyka's eyes were looking over the stone before asking. "What is that? I sense great power from it." He shook his head before looking to her. "This, is my Hearthstone, with it I can set a waypoint here, allowing me to visit whenever I have time. Sadly, it is soulbound to me, so I cannot give it to anyone else." Slyka's mouth gaped for a moment before she shook her head. "I, I have heard of such things, but never have I seen such a powerful item in person. May I touch it?" He nodded slightly, offering it to her. She slowly moved her hand to it, a few sparks of static reached out, touching Slyka's hand, her eyes closed when the static touched her. He watched her a little worried as her hand stopped, but she didn't look to be in pain. She took her hand back, her eyes opened to look at him. "I see, the Earth Mother has given this stone to you at Gaia's command. I knew when I touched you that you were someone special, but not this special." Slyka chuckled. "I see, the spirits have truly blessed me. I have been put on a path with someone like you." She looked back to her people then back to him, her score ticked up to 170. "My people will help you as best we can, Angelo." He watched her a moment, her words surprised him. "I will do my best to live up to your expectations." Her expression softened. "You have done more than enough for that. My people have some rebuilding to do. Please, come back in a few days. Everyone will want to celebrate what you have done for us." She looked to Cindy in the distance. "You should get her back home. I will explain everything to the villagers and why they owe you so much." He nodded slightly. "Take care of yourself Slyka. I look forward to seeing you later." She blushed, her eyes looking down then back up to his. "Get going, my hero." He leaned in, kissing her cheek before getting up, leaving Slyka there, blushing. He was careful, watching his step as he made his way back through the remains of the village and to Cindy's side. She had gotten up and was stretching, probably quite sore from having been inside that cage. She looked rather cheerful now that he was back, saying. "That really didn't take very long. Are they okay?" He nodded. "Slyka suggested that I take you back home while she explained what had happened. She wanted some time to clean up too." She nodded. "Shall we go then?" He was about to nod, but remembered, he hadn't set a waypoint yet. "I need to do something first, then we can go." She tilted her head a bit. "O-okay." He quickly walked to the oasis and ran his thumb over the Hearthstone, a notification popped up in front of him.

Would you like to set this location as a waypoint?

Yes or no.

He hit yes, before putting his Hearthstone back into his inventory. He turned to quickly head back to her side, following Cindy's instruction they began their journey back to Cindy's place. She said it was only an hour away. He was hoping there wouldn't be any trouble along the way. It wasn't likely to be wrought with trouble, was it?

Name: Angelo Gallo

Title: The Gamer

Lvl: 12 XP 503/2,400

Hp: 252/252

Hp regen: 3.366 per min

Mp: 301/301

Mp regen: 3.997 per min

Money: $43,278.22

Dick size: 9 inches

Inventory slots 11/20 (Pages of Wolf Riding 5/5, Wolf Pelts x 4, Spearhead x 3, Goblin Loincloth x 4, Fikle's Gloves, Cindy's Promise, Hearthstone, Fantom, Angelo's Scimitar, Gaia snack, and Raw Boar's Steak x 5)

Unspent skill points: 0

Str: 30 + (3) End: 25 + (2)

Int: 39 + (3.9) Wis: 30 + (1)

Agi: 25 + (24.5) Cha: 30 + (0)

Lib: 30 + (0)