Thursday, March 24th.
A high-pitched ring snapped through the air.
Garet awoke to the all-too familiar sound. As he looked around at all the sleeping bags around the campfire, he noticed that Isaac's was empty.
Another ring, as if metal was crashing upon metal.
Quickly, Garet awakened the other seven. Grabbing his battle-axe that lay next to his bed, he began to run toward the clatter. He arrived at a clearing, and was soon joined by Felix, Alex, and the others.
The sight was like nothing he had ever seen, even in his most twisted nightmares.
Isaac, brandishing his trusted blade, had a gash in his left arm that exposed bone. A slain warrior was lying facedown on the ground a few feet away. Saturos, staring at Isaac with utmost concentration, was bleeding from a cut on his face as he stood several meters in front of his fellow clan members.
A howl flew through the air as Saturos charged at Isaac with almost inhuman speed. Isaac nimbly dodged Saturos' rapier and spun to face his assailant.
Regaining the ability to move his legs, Garet rushed to Isaac's side. Mia followed, and the rest of the gang arrived to rejoin their comrade as half of the fire clan members appeared with Saturos. The others were not too far behind.
Garet glanced at Isaac and, with a grin, asked, "Why do you get to have all the fun?"
"Shut up, Garet."
An unknown face in the gang of Saturos charged. Felix lunged forward and, with the flick of his sword, separated the attacker's head from the rest of his body. Another decided to try his luck and attempted to come at the group from the side. Garet leapt with all his might and, with every bit of power he could find, swung his battle-axe downward, splitting open the skull of the unfortunate fool.
A scream emitted from a female next to Menardi, and suddenly, both parties began to run at each other. Fearing they might hit an ally, none of the skirmishers dared to use their Psynergy. Metal clashed against metal once again, and the sounds of war were filling the dark night air. Mia swung her mace into the back of Menardi, and Sheba was quick to finish the job, swinging her staff into her neck, snapping Menardi's neck in half and almost doing the same to Sheba's staff. Picard swung his scimitar upwards, lifting one of his assailants into the air and slicing his body from his left ribcage to above his right shoulder.
As the battle raged on, the group realized the best way to survive was to stay close together. Picard barked a command to the others, and they quickly formed a circle with Mia in the middle. Her Ply, they knew, would be the only thing between life and death. Alex threw her all the Psy Crystals they had to make sure she would be ready and able to keep healing. Jenna impaled another fire adept with her short sword. Ivan tempted fate and cast Whirlwind, confusing another long enough to slice open his gut. Organs spilled out and his blood mixed in with the blood of those already dead.
After several minutes of fighting, there was only one more left. Saturos, sitting on a stump several meters from the carnage, sat back and prepared to cast Eruption. As he raised his arms to finish Isaac and company, Garet raised his arms and, with what little strength he had, swung his axe. As he let go, he collapsed on the ground, too tired to continue fighting.
A second seem to last years.
The axe hit its mark, burying itself into the chest of the final opponent. Saturos flew back several feet and stopped his flight lying on his back. Alex teleported to the now dead Saturos and retrieved the axe for Garet.
Isaac looked toward Felix. "I could really use a strong drink right about now. How about you?"
Wednesday, March 30th.
Dusk was coming fast. Mia was humming a few bars of 'Mercury Lighthouse Theme' as they were walking into the main port city on Lemuria. They had stored the Lemurian boat along with Felix's vessel there, and they were getting ready to sail to the Mars Lighthouse. It had been six days since the encounter with the Army of Saturos, or so it had become to be called by the group. Isaac, with his arm bandaged and wound covered with an herb, couldn't help but wonder how long the voyage would take.
"Hey, it's getting late. You guys want to stop at the inn before we leave? We're running low on herbs and nuts too" Mia said. She had been responsible for keeping everyone as healthy as possible, although Alex helped out a lot with the job.
"About time someone said so. I didn't want to whine, but I'm tired and I want a bed. I'm sick of sleeping on the ground" Garet whimpered pathetically.
Picard went up to the innkeeper and reserved rooms for them. Being the only one to speak Lemurian, he did all the talking to the shopkeepers in towns while they were on the island. "They only had four rooms open, so someone will have to triple bunk."
Mia, Sheba, and Jenna looked at each other. "We'll do it," Jenna told the boys. "SLUMBER PARTY!"
Ivan groaned. "Hey girls. Maybe you can try to go to bed before midnight tonight. We have a long day for us tomorrow." "Okay Sheba piped in cheerily. "We'll try." She giggled.
"Great."
Thursday, March 31st.
"Rise and shine!" Alex was awake and ready, along with Felix and Sheba. "It's already 6 a.m.! We want all the time we can get to sail."
Mia walked out of her room, followed Closely by Jenna. "What for breakfast?" Mia asked inquisitively.
"Eggs, pancakes, and sausage." Sheba responded.
After the meal, Ivan offered to clean up as they go and get the boats ready. Felix, Isaac, and Garet went off to the docks.
"Four hundred coins!? That's absurd!" Garet was shocked at the price. "You only had them for three weeks! That's robbery!"
"Well," started the dock owner, "someone stole one of my personal ships, and I need to pay for it somehow."
"Why didn't you just send your guards after him?" asked Felix.
"I did. But then he shot this weird fireball from his hand and it just trashed him completely. He is at the sanctum right now."
The trio looked at each other and gasped. Had one of Saturos' men escaped with his life? Had he been able to return to the North? Garet tossed the dock owner the coins and the three ran back to the inn.
Felix bursts into the inn, breathing hard and sweating, and shouts to the others, "Get ready! We sail in twenty minutes!" Ivan nearly drops the final dish he is holding. "Why the rush?" We've got a problem," Garet answers for Felix. "We think one of Saturos' friends fled back to his homeland." Picard looks up at Garet. "I was afraid of this. But do not worry. I have a plan. We need to go to the blacksmith. He's an old friend of mine."
The boys rushed into the blacksmith's shop, led by Picard. "Hey Jerome. You get my order ready?" "Of course. I'll bill you're family. You can take them now." "Thanks, Jerome. Hey guys," Picard glanced toward them. "Go around to the rear of the shop. You'll know what to get."
Garet walked up to Picard and whispered something to him. "Can you get me a metal rod, a good knife, and some wood? We might need it on our trip." He then hurried out and around the store.
Behind the store, he met up with the others. "Holy crap. Let's move them onto the ship ASAP. The ammo must be as long as my arm!" The group started to move the new toys toward the docks. Picard caught up, and gave the requested supplies to Garet. "Remember, we need ten on each ship."
At the dock, the ladies finished with packing the ship with the normal supplies. They saw the boys pushing their new weapons toward the ships, and they ran over to them. "Where the heck did you get those?!" Mia exclaimed. "And how much did you spend on them!?" "Don't worry. I already had them specially ordered for a ship. I was going to buy one, but then you came along and already had some. They didn't cost us anything up-front."
The dockhands assisted in helping the group load the cargo and putting them in place. When it was done, both ships had ten per ship, five per side. They were twenty, beautiful ballistae set up to fire at ships coming at any side. "Now we are ready for the 'wrath' of the fire clan of the north." Picard said with a smile. "Now, how will we divide the bunks on the ship? "Well, I am the only one who knows how to sail my ship, so I will be on there." Felix stated. "I will command the Lemurian ship, because I know a few secrets about it that you don't." Picard told the others. "I'll go with you, Picard" Mia said to him aloud. "I can teach you two how to teleport because you are both Mercury Adepts, like me." "Well, I want to be with my brother, so I'll be on his ship." Garet glanced at Jenna. "I'll go with Jenna and Felix." Ivan and Sheba both said at the same time, "I'll go on the Lemurian ship." Sheba giggled and Ivan blushed. Isaac, knowing that the choice was already made, just pointed toward Felix's ship and nodded.
After a few hours of sailing, the sun was high in the sky and the salty sea air filled all of the rooms aboard both sea vessels. Garet had been sharpening one of the wooden poles that Picard had purchased for him, and it was looking quite nice so far. Noon was arriving, and Garet was hungry. Felix slowed his ship's speed and lined it up next to the Lemurian one. "Ahoy, there!" Garet shouted. "You seem to have stocked all of the food." "So we have," Ivan shouted back. "And we'll share it as long as you promise never to say 'ahoy there' ever again!" Chuckles and laughter came from both ships. "Fine, if that's how you want it." Garet jumped from one ship to the other and walked into the kitchen. After about five minutes, he exited and returned to his ship. "Now, if I only knew how to cook." Jenna, seeing that Garet would probably set fire to the ship, rushed into the kitchen after him. Felix and Isaac followed. "I'll get that," She said. Garet just smiled back, and Felix gave him a scolding look and just nodded his head 'no'. Meanwhile, Mia and Sheba began preparations for the meal on their ship. Ivan entered along with Alex, and they offered to take over the duties of chef. The two girls smiled and left the kitchen. "Do you think Sheba even noticed me?" Ivan asked hopefully. "Of course she did." Ivan's face brightened. "Really?"
After the simultaneous meals, the anchors were raised and work continued. Garet took his post atop the crow's nest, and Alex teleported to his. Felix and Picard took the helm on their crafts, and the others cleaned up after the meals. Suddenly, Alex shouted, "There is another ship sailing straight towards us! I can't make out who is on it though." Garet hollered, "I see it too. Who do you think it could be?" Sheba had a worried look on her face. "Could it be the fire clan?" she thought. Mia charged into the storage room and retrieved the weapons and armour of all those aboard. She tossed them into a pile on the main deck and grabbed her mace and Feathered Robe while Sheba grabbed her staff and Robe. Both ships turned herd to portside and dropped anchors. "Mia! Sheba! I think it's best if you two go below decks while we suit up. We might need the ballistae" Ivan told them. All crewmen of the two magnificent ships prepared for another battle. Readying their ballistae, Isaac and Jenna opened the firing ports. "Lets hope we don't have to use these." Isaac said.
The unknown boats pulled up and dropped anchors several meters away from the two ships and out popped Iodem. "Hey, Isaac! How have you been?" "Iodem! What are you doing here?" Sheba, Mia, and Jenna all popped out from below decks. "Just sailing around looking for you. Have you fou-" He suddenly stopped. "Sheba! And you are with the people who took her, aren't you?! Isaac, why are you with these kidnappers!?" "They are nice people! They rescued me from you and Babi and Tolbi! You are the kidnappers!" Sheba screamed. Ivan grabbed his Kusanagi. "Yeah, you took her from her home in Lalivero." Picard ran from the pile of armament brandishing his scimitar. "So you are Iodem, the one who works for Babi. Babi is greedy and wanted the immortalizing drought from my home. You will have to go through me to get it." Iodem stared at Picard. "You're Lemurian? I see. But that is irrelevant. Babi is dead, and he asked me to sail for Lemuria once the Babi Lighthouse was complete. I am to finish his plans for the glory of Tolbi after I complete Babi's final wish." "But you still want the drought for yourself? Are you prepared to give up you position in Tolbi for it?" "I want no drought. I was sent here to find Isaac and his friends." He turned toward Isaac. " Babi's last wishes were for me to help you on your journey. Do you accept the assistance of me and my three ships?" Isaac looked at Felix, then Garet, then Sheba. "It isn't my choice." Alex climbed down from the crow's nest and walked toward Sheba. "Do you trust them enough to let them join?" Sheba thought for a minute. "If Babi is dead, then he can't harm me. Anyways, I've got you all in case he tries something. I guess we can let him join us. "Excellent! I'd like you all to meet my comrades. This is Jonathan, Christopher, and Robert. Over there is Cai, Barque, Liam, Duke, and Joshua," he said, pointing to the farthest ship. "On the other ship is Auger, Bahzell, Aaron, and Rachael. Liam captains his vessel, and Aaron captains his."
A high-pitched ring snapped through the air.
Garet awoke to the all-too familiar sound. As he looked around at all the sleeping bags around the campfire, he noticed that Isaac's was empty.
Another ring, as if metal was crashing upon metal.
Quickly, Garet awakened the other seven. Grabbing his battle-axe that lay next to his bed, he began to run toward the clatter. He arrived at a clearing, and was soon joined by Felix, Alex, and the others.
The sight was like nothing he had ever seen, even in his most twisted nightmares.
Isaac, brandishing his trusted blade, had a gash in his left arm that exposed bone. A slain warrior was lying facedown on the ground a few feet away. Saturos, staring at Isaac with utmost concentration, was bleeding from a cut on his face as he stood several meters in front of his fellow clan members.
A howl flew through the air as Saturos charged at Isaac with almost inhuman speed. Isaac nimbly dodged Saturos' rapier and spun to face his assailant.
Regaining the ability to move his legs, Garet rushed to Isaac's side. Mia followed, and the rest of the gang arrived to rejoin their comrade as half of the fire clan members appeared with Saturos. The others were not too far behind.
Garet glanced at Isaac and, with a grin, asked, "Why do you get to have all the fun?"
"Shut up, Garet."
An unknown face in the gang of Saturos charged. Felix lunged forward and, with the flick of his sword, separated the attacker's head from the rest of his body. Another decided to try his luck and attempted to come at the group from the side. Garet leapt with all his might and, with every bit of power he could find, swung his battle-axe downward, splitting open the skull of the unfortunate fool.
A scream emitted from a female next to Menardi, and suddenly, both parties began to run at each other. Fearing they might hit an ally, none of the skirmishers dared to use their Psynergy. Metal clashed against metal once again, and the sounds of war were filling the dark night air. Mia swung her mace into the back of Menardi, and Sheba was quick to finish the job, swinging her staff into her neck, snapping Menardi's neck in half and almost doing the same to Sheba's staff. Picard swung his scimitar upwards, lifting one of his assailants into the air and slicing his body from his left ribcage to above his right shoulder.
As the battle raged on, the group realized the best way to survive was to stay close together. Picard barked a command to the others, and they quickly formed a circle with Mia in the middle. Her Ply, they knew, would be the only thing between life and death. Alex threw her all the Psy Crystals they had to make sure she would be ready and able to keep healing. Jenna impaled another fire adept with her short sword. Ivan tempted fate and cast Whirlwind, confusing another long enough to slice open his gut. Organs spilled out and his blood mixed in with the blood of those already dead.
After several minutes of fighting, there was only one more left. Saturos, sitting on a stump several meters from the carnage, sat back and prepared to cast Eruption. As he raised his arms to finish Isaac and company, Garet raised his arms and, with what little strength he had, swung his axe. As he let go, he collapsed on the ground, too tired to continue fighting.
A second seem to last years.
The axe hit its mark, burying itself into the chest of the final opponent. Saturos flew back several feet and stopped his flight lying on his back. Alex teleported to the now dead Saturos and retrieved the axe for Garet.
Isaac looked toward Felix. "I could really use a strong drink right about now. How about you?"
Wednesday, March 30th.
Dusk was coming fast. Mia was humming a few bars of 'Mercury Lighthouse Theme' as they were walking into the main port city on Lemuria. They had stored the Lemurian boat along with Felix's vessel there, and they were getting ready to sail to the Mars Lighthouse. It had been six days since the encounter with the Army of Saturos, or so it had become to be called by the group. Isaac, with his arm bandaged and wound covered with an herb, couldn't help but wonder how long the voyage would take.
"Hey, it's getting late. You guys want to stop at the inn before we leave? We're running low on herbs and nuts too" Mia said. She had been responsible for keeping everyone as healthy as possible, although Alex helped out a lot with the job.
"About time someone said so. I didn't want to whine, but I'm tired and I want a bed. I'm sick of sleeping on the ground" Garet whimpered pathetically.
Picard went up to the innkeeper and reserved rooms for them. Being the only one to speak Lemurian, he did all the talking to the shopkeepers in towns while they were on the island. "They only had four rooms open, so someone will have to triple bunk."
Mia, Sheba, and Jenna looked at each other. "We'll do it," Jenna told the boys. "SLUMBER PARTY!"
Ivan groaned. "Hey girls. Maybe you can try to go to bed before midnight tonight. We have a long day for us tomorrow." "Okay Sheba piped in cheerily. "We'll try." She giggled.
"Great."
Thursday, March 31st.
"Rise and shine!" Alex was awake and ready, along with Felix and Sheba. "It's already 6 a.m.! We want all the time we can get to sail."
Mia walked out of her room, followed Closely by Jenna. "What for breakfast?" Mia asked inquisitively.
"Eggs, pancakes, and sausage." Sheba responded.
After the meal, Ivan offered to clean up as they go and get the boats ready. Felix, Isaac, and Garet went off to the docks.
"Four hundred coins!? That's absurd!" Garet was shocked at the price. "You only had them for three weeks! That's robbery!"
"Well," started the dock owner, "someone stole one of my personal ships, and I need to pay for it somehow."
"Why didn't you just send your guards after him?" asked Felix.
"I did. But then he shot this weird fireball from his hand and it just trashed him completely. He is at the sanctum right now."
The trio looked at each other and gasped. Had one of Saturos' men escaped with his life? Had he been able to return to the North? Garet tossed the dock owner the coins and the three ran back to the inn.
Felix bursts into the inn, breathing hard and sweating, and shouts to the others, "Get ready! We sail in twenty minutes!" Ivan nearly drops the final dish he is holding. "Why the rush?" We've got a problem," Garet answers for Felix. "We think one of Saturos' friends fled back to his homeland." Picard looks up at Garet. "I was afraid of this. But do not worry. I have a plan. We need to go to the blacksmith. He's an old friend of mine."
The boys rushed into the blacksmith's shop, led by Picard. "Hey Jerome. You get my order ready?" "Of course. I'll bill you're family. You can take them now." "Thanks, Jerome. Hey guys," Picard glanced toward them. "Go around to the rear of the shop. You'll know what to get."
Garet walked up to Picard and whispered something to him. "Can you get me a metal rod, a good knife, and some wood? We might need it on our trip." He then hurried out and around the store.
Behind the store, he met up with the others. "Holy crap. Let's move them onto the ship ASAP. The ammo must be as long as my arm!" The group started to move the new toys toward the docks. Picard caught up, and gave the requested supplies to Garet. "Remember, we need ten on each ship."
At the dock, the ladies finished with packing the ship with the normal supplies. They saw the boys pushing their new weapons toward the ships, and they ran over to them. "Where the heck did you get those?!" Mia exclaimed. "And how much did you spend on them!?" "Don't worry. I already had them specially ordered for a ship. I was going to buy one, but then you came along and already had some. They didn't cost us anything up-front."
The dockhands assisted in helping the group load the cargo and putting them in place. When it was done, both ships had ten per ship, five per side. They were twenty, beautiful ballistae set up to fire at ships coming at any side. "Now we are ready for the 'wrath' of the fire clan of the north." Picard said with a smile. "Now, how will we divide the bunks on the ship? "Well, I am the only one who knows how to sail my ship, so I will be on there." Felix stated. "I will command the Lemurian ship, because I know a few secrets about it that you don't." Picard told the others. "I'll go with you, Picard" Mia said to him aloud. "I can teach you two how to teleport because you are both Mercury Adepts, like me." "Well, I want to be with my brother, so I'll be on his ship." Garet glanced at Jenna. "I'll go with Jenna and Felix." Ivan and Sheba both said at the same time, "I'll go on the Lemurian ship." Sheba giggled and Ivan blushed. Isaac, knowing that the choice was already made, just pointed toward Felix's ship and nodded.
After a few hours of sailing, the sun was high in the sky and the salty sea air filled all of the rooms aboard both sea vessels. Garet had been sharpening one of the wooden poles that Picard had purchased for him, and it was looking quite nice so far. Noon was arriving, and Garet was hungry. Felix slowed his ship's speed and lined it up next to the Lemurian one. "Ahoy, there!" Garet shouted. "You seem to have stocked all of the food." "So we have," Ivan shouted back. "And we'll share it as long as you promise never to say 'ahoy there' ever again!" Chuckles and laughter came from both ships. "Fine, if that's how you want it." Garet jumped from one ship to the other and walked into the kitchen. After about five minutes, he exited and returned to his ship. "Now, if I only knew how to cook." Jenna, seeing that Garet would probably set fire to the ship, rushed into the kitchen after him. Felix and Isaac followed. "I'll get that," She said. Garet just smiled back, and Felix gave him a scolding look and just nodded his head 'no'. Meanwhile, Mia and Sheba began preparations for the meal on their ship. Ivan entered along with Alex, and they offered to take over the duties of chef. The two girls smiled and left the kitchen. "Do you think Sheba even noticed me?" Ivan asked hopefully. "Of course she did." Ivan's face brightened. "Really?"
After the simultaneous meals, the anchors were raised and work continued. Garet took his post atop the crow's nest, and Alex teleported to his. Felix and Picard took the helm on their crafts, and the others cleaned up after the meals. Suddenly, Alex shouted, "There is another ship sailing straight towards us! I can't make out who is on it though." Garet hollered, "I see it too. Who do you think it could be?" Sheba had a worried look on her face. "Could it be the fire clan?" she thought. Mia charged into the storage room and retrieved the weapons and armour of all those aboard. She tossed them into a pile on the main deck and grabbed her mace and Feathered Robe while Sheba grabbed her staff and Robe. Both ships turned herd to portside and dropped anchors. "Mia! Sheba! I think it's best if you two go below decks while we suit up. We might need the ballistae" Ivan told them. All crewmen of the two magnificent ships prepared for another battle. Readying their ballistae, Isaac and Jenna opened the firing ports. "Lets hope we don't have to use these." Isaac said.
The unknown boats pulled up and dropped anchors several meters away from the two ships and out popped Iodem. "Hey, Isaac! How have you been?" "Iodem! What are you doing here?" Sheba, Mia, and Jenna all popped out from below decks. "Just sailing around looking for you. Have you fou-" He suddenly stopped. "Sheba! And you are with the people who took her, aren't you?! Isaac, why are you with these kidnappers!?" "They are nice people! They rescued me from you and Babi and Tolbi! You are the kidnappers!" Sheba screamed. Ivan grabbed his Kusanagi. "Yeah, you took her from her home in Lalivero." Picard ran from the pile of armament brandishing his scimitar. "So you are Iodem, the one who works for Babi. Babi is greedy and wanted the immortalizing drought from my home. You will have to go through me to get it." Iodem stared at Picard. "You're Lemurian? I see. But that is irrelevant. Babi is dead, and he asked me to sail for Lemuria once the Babi Lighthouse was complete. I am to finish his plans for the glory of Tolbi after I complete Babi's final wish." "But you still want the drought for yourself? Are you prepared to give up you position in Tolbi for it?" "I want no drought. I was sent here to find Isaac and his friends." He turned toward Isaac. " Babi's last wishes were for me to help you on your journey. Do you accept the assistance of me and my three ships?" Isaac looked at Felix, then Garet, then Sheba. "It isn't my choice." Alex climbed down from the crow's nest and walked toward Sheba. "Do you trust them enough to let them join?" Sheba thought for a minute. "If Babi is dead, then he can't harm me. Anyways, I've got you all in case he tries something. I guess we can let him join us. "Excellent! I'd like you all to meet my comrades. This is Jonathan, Christopher, and Robert. Over there is Cai, Barque, Liam, Duke, and Joshua," he said, pointing to the farthest ship. "On the other ship is Auger, Bahzell, Aaron, and Rachael. Liam captains his vessel, and Aaron captains his."