Ba'ul flew near the city of Halure. The sun was beginning to set, and the group was quickly ready for a rest. Judith told Ba'ul to land and decided to walk with the rest of the group to Halure.
"Too bad we couldn't get to Aspio in time, I'm so tired." Raven complained.
"Is that all that man does, just complain and complain?" Tivar asked as Judith nodded. "And why are you so tired Raven?"
"When you're my age ya feel more tired." Raven confessed.
"We're a mile from Halure, so we might want to pick up the pace." Flynn suggested.
The tree of Halure was beaming with pink. It was that time of year again. Without the blastia the city had been hit by wave after wave of monster attacks, but seeing all the knights in the city, the group could tell there wasn't too much of a problem anymore.
"Alright, me and Estelle will go get us rooms at the inn." Flynn offered.
"OK then, come Commandant." Estelle stated as the two walked to the outdoor innkeeper.
"I'm going to go look at the tree of Halure, I've heard it is beautiful." Tivar stated as he walked away.
"Well Judy baby, where do you want to go?" Raven asked the blue haired Krytian.
"How about we go see what's for sale at the shop here in town." Judith suggested; Raven nodded and the two headed to the shop. There at the shop was a women in a purple get up and had blue hair stood at the stand.
Raven walked up and said, "Well, what are you byin' today?"
The woman turned around, though the group had no idea it was Meavallia, Rugulf's superior. "Just checking out the merchandise." She took a glimpse at a slightly glowing pocket Raven had and quickly realized this was the group of heroes; Rugulf had let them escaped. Meavallia held back a glare and asked, "You must be Raven and you must be Judith, the heroes of…the world."
Judith smiled and said, "That's us."
"We're here because we are trying to get to Aspio to ask a friend to look over something for us." Raven stated. The woman smiled quickly then turned stern again.
"Oh…that's nice. Well, there's nothing here I wish to buy, so I think I'll get going, nice to…meet you and all." Meavallia said as she walked away. Just as she walked passed Judith the Krytian noticed the woman's skin tone in the moonlight and suddenly turned suspicious.
"That woman…do you think she is one of the one's that attacked Myorzo?" Judith asked her purple-coated comrade.
Raven shook his head. "I don't think so, where did ya get that idea from?"
"Oh…It's nothing, never mind." Judith responded. "Let's go meet the others."
In the middle of the city the whole group gathered together.
"That was a decent sight to see." Tivar decided after coming back from observing the tree of Halure.
"I know!" Estelle agreed happily. "I'm so happy you were able to see it."
"Alright, the rooms are ready inside the inn, I'm going to go speak to the knights, you guys should go get some rest." Flynn stated as he walked off to the nearest knight.
"Old Raven is gettin' tired, time to go to bed." Raven stated as he walked into the inn.
Tivar and Estelle followed quickly, but Judith just stood there. "There's no mistaking that orange skin tone, she has to be of the same species, might as well go check." Judith decided as she sneaked out of the city in the direction the woman had gone. Soon she arrived in a clearing in the woods.
"Hmmm… I thought that since your home land had just been attacked that you wouldn't have butted in, but no matter, a little hero as a prisoner will be just fine, and might please my superior." Meavallia said as she shot Judith with a spell of blue electricity that caused Judith to become paralyzed. As Meavallia walked away, two men lifted Judith up and followed their commander.
Meanwhile Raven couldn't get to sleep, so he decided to see what Flynn was up to. Flynn was questioning a knight about odd occurrences in the town the past month or so.
"So, men in odd black armor have been coming here frequently?" Flynn asked the knight as Raven walked up next to him.
"Yes, they have been buying a high number of goods and steeling samples of the tree, and they leave too fast for us to do anything." The knight explained.
"Well it is time to put a stop to it then, double the stations at the tree and make sure no one comes to take anything without my permission, and since I'll be away, they will have to wait for my answer." Flynn ordered.
"Yes sir!" The knight saluted as he walked off. Flynn turned to Raven.
"So, what are those men that have been comin' to town recently?" A curious Raven asked. Flynn shook his head.
"I don't know for sure, they seem to be in a unique black armor and they come frequently and steal. They also say that a woman always is with them, they all always have orange skin apparently." Flynn explained, oblivious to who he was talking about.
Raven's eyes widened. "Where's Judith?" He asked quickly.
Flynn seemed surprised at his comrade's sudden change in mood and answered, "She left the town, probably for a walk."
"Did that woman where purple?" Raven asked.
"Yes, but why do you ask?" Flynn replied, still confused to what was going on.
Raven quickly dashed off out of the city, leaving Flynn behind with a puzzled look on his face and scratching his head.
Raven ran through the woods, past the clearing where Judith had been captured until he arrived at a large movable fortress. He shot down the two guards and ran inside. Two more guards were right next to him. Raven pulled out his knife and stabbed one, ducked under the other's stab with his spear, and came up and stabbed the other guards, leaving both dead on the floor.
Raven continued down the hallway until he opened a door to a large room. In the middle was Judith trapped twenty feet off the ground and in a gigantic cage, her hands and feet bound by metal chains. Judith's eyes widened when she saw Raven.
Behind him Raven heard footsteps and he turned around and thrust forward, but his wrist was grabbed easily by Meavallia and he was spun and slammed to the floor, stomach touching the ground. Meavallia held his wrist and painfully yanked his arm up but stepped on his back while doing so.
"I know this will be easy." Meavallia laughed to herself as Raven was held painfully to the ground.
Meanwhile, back in Halure, Flynn realized what was going on and rushed into the inn and woke up Tivar and Estelle.
"What is going on?" Estelle asked.
"Judith and Raven are in major trouble, we have to go help them, and quick. So grab your weapons and follow me." Flynn ordered. Estelle grabbed her sword and shield as Tivar grabbed his staff and all three ran outside.
"Why is Raven and Judith in trouble?" Tivar asked.
"I'll explain along the way, now hurry!" Flynn ordered again as the three ran out off Halure and steadily towards the fortress.
"So why exactly is Raven and Judith in trouble?" Tivar asked.
"Lately men have been coming into Halure and stealing leaved and samples from the tree of Halure, and been buying large amounts of merchandise. They are lead by a woman in purple. All of them though have orange skin and probably yellow eyes." Flynn explained.
"So they're exactly like Rugulf and those men who attacked Myorzo!" Estelle realized.
"That is correct." Flynn said.
"Then that woman should be another leader of them." Tivar guessed.
"Yes, I noticed on her way out she had a deadly looking long knife strapped to the side of her leg, and it looked to powerful for her to be a mere grunt like the rest." Flynn inferred.
"Then we really need to hurry." Tivar decided.
"Yeah, to save Raven and Judith!" Estelle agreed.
Inside the fortress room Raven was sent flying against the wall, then slumping to the floor. He was already beaten and bruised, while Meavallia was smiling and unharmed.
"When Rugulf failed to take that gem from you, I thought he had to face a powerful group, but this is absolutely pathetic." Meavallia stated in disappointment. "I was hoping for an entertaining fight."
Raven charged at her with his dagger, but she grabbed his wrist, yanked it down, spun him the other way, and shot him with an explosion from her hand front first into the opposite wall. Raven again slumped to the floor in pain.
"I haven't even taken out my weapon." Meavallia taunted and smiled. She knew this would get the man angry and make it easier for her to kill him.
Raven fell for the trap and lunged at her, flailing his dagger around wildly, while Meavallia just ducked, sidestepped, flipped, and eventually she swung her arm to the side and backhanded Raven's hand, sending him sprawling to the side after losing his balance.
"Pitiful." Meavallia stated bluntly.
Raven now knew what she was trying to do. "Tryin' to get me all mad, well it ain't gonna work." He said, still beaten up badly.
Meavallia just smiled. "Oh, really? That's a shame." She said as she pointed towards Judith and sent purple lightning in her direction. Judith screamed in pain when the lightning hit, and again and again as Meavallia just smiled and shot.
Raven was overboard with hatred as he yelled and ran at Meavallia. "That's it, fall into the trap." Meavallia said as she shot more lightning at Judith and readied herself.
Raven lunged and swung wildly again at Meavallia, but Meavallia had predicted just that. She smiled and ducked under him, flipping him over herself, punching him hard in the stomach, and shooting him with a powerful red lightning in the stomach, exploding and shooting the almost dead purple coated man into the wall and to the floor.
Raven stumbled to his knees and dropped his dagger, unable to hold it.
Meavallia smiled. "Oh, tired are we? No matter, I guess your pretty friend here won't be saved, while you just sit there unable to do a thing." Meavallia said menacingly as she shot again and again with lightning, Judith's screams and tears filling the room.
Raven sobbed as he was too hurt to get up to save Judith. "Stop!" He yelled in agony.
Meavallia shot a few more bolts then stopped and smiled. "Fine, I'll kill her after you." She turned to face the horribly injured and sad Krytian. "I'm so sorry about making you see your friend here die." Meavallia said evilly with much sarcasm as she laughed and smiled. She walked over to Raven, kicked him so he lay face pushed against the ground, yanked his arm behind his head, pressed her knee against his back painfully, then she drew her special foot and a forth long knife with an elegant hilt, and leaned down next to Raven's face and said as she pulled his arm behind him further and more painfully while pressing down on his back, "Poor pathetic Raven, oh well, I've been waiting to kill you since I captured her, and this will end slowly." Meavallia pressed her long knife against Raven's throat and began to press down, Judith screaming for her to stop in the background.
"How about you get off of him!" Yelled a voice that came from just outside the room. Meavallia got off of Raven and kicked him hard in the side and sent him rolling to the side.
Flynn and the other two walked into the room with horror as they saw what Meavallia had done to their two friends.
"Well, well, more idiotic victims." Meavallia mused as she smiled.
Flynn was filled with over whelming rage as Estelle cried and ran to try to heal Raven, but Meavallia shot a fireball that blocked Estelle's way. She ran back next to Flynn."We need to save them!" She yelled.
"I know." Flynn answered. "He turned to face Meavallia and said, "Alright bitch, let our friends go now!"
Meavallia laughed and answered, "If you want them, then you have to rescue them yourself, so come at me then knight idiot."
Flynn rushed forward and swung his sword downward, but his swing was quickly parried by Meavallia's long knife, Flynn swung his sword again and again as Meavallia parried each one without much effort. She then ducked under a blow and back handed Flynn's legs with such force that the Commandant fell backwards. Meavallia then shot a purple fireball that shattered Flynn's shield.
"We want to play fair." She remarked. Flynn came back up and held his sword with both hands as he swung without luck trying to hit Meavallia, though she dodged all of his blows. When Meavallia saw Estelle trying to run and heal Raven she kicked Flynn stomach with the bottom of her foot/boot which sent him sprawling backward. She then turned and yelled, "Stalagmite!" Jagged rocks came out of the ground and hit Estelle's shield which sent her backward. Meavallia quickly turned and slammed her long knife down and hit Flynn's sword, causing him to stagger backward.
"Without your blastia you guys are useless." Meavallia stated.
Tivar yelled, "Explosion!" from behind which was blocked by Meavallia's Wind Barrier.
Meavallia dodged a blow from Flynn and ran in front of Estelle between her and Raven. "I don't think so pink hair." Meavallia said as a beam of light shot from her hands and hit Estelle's shield which shattered. Estelle screamed as she was hit hard against the wall by the spell, beaten and battered as she fell to the ground.
Tivar and Flynn looked appalled at their three friends almost dead, and they didn't want them to get even more wounded. Tivar shot spell after spell at Meavallia as Flynn ran and swung his sword again and again. Meavallia ducked and dodged as she swung her long knife and shot magic to counter. Soon the two men were panting and barely standing after being wounded badly.
Raven stood up and tried to hit Meavallia, but Meavallia turned and shot Raven with a strong fireball spell. Raven was shot into the system that kept the cage Judith was in, in the air. The cage began to explode. In a daring attempt Raven lunged and grabbed Judith, both of them falling to the floor. The cage exploded, and Estelle barely had enough time to jump out of its way. Meavallia and Flynn stopped battling for the moment to analyze what just happened. Tivar grabbed Judith's spear that was off to the side and cut her loose, Judith grabbed the spear and ran in to help Flynn.
"Where is Estelle?" Tivar asked Raven, as he took notice of the condition the Schwann's alter ego was in. Tivar noticed she was blocked off from Raven by Meavallia. "That damned killer." Tivar muttered to himself.
With Judith in the fight, though tired hurt from the torture, the battle was slightly better. Eventually the group was either unconscious or too injured to fight. This was when conscious Flynn, Estelle, and Tivar decided they needed to retreat. Flynn said he'd stay behind and fight off Meavallia, Tivar agreed with the plan quickly while Estelle reluctantly agreed with the plan. Tivar lifted up Raven and Estelle lifted up Judith and the two ran off.
"You think that you can take me on by yourself? I haven't even had to come close to calling the guards for help. I hope there is some hidden power inside you, or else this will indeed be a quick fight Commandant boy." Meavallia taunted.
"You tortured my friends, so I won't let you get away with it." Flynn muttered in response.
"Oh really, I'm the one in trouble? Don't make me laugh! Oh well, come at me then and show me what you've got." Meavallia retaliated.
"And we're here to help him!" Yelled Sodia from nearby. Out of nowhere Sodia, Witcher, and ten knights came out of know where. Flynn could faintly hear fighting from far away. Sodia ran next to Flynn and said, "Those ten knights are going to distract that woman as you, me, and Witcher make our escape."
Flynn looked shocked to hear his second-in-command offer to sacrifice their troops so that they themselves could escape. "I don't agree with the plan." Flynn finally muttered.
"Neither do we, but we have to get you out of here!" Witcher urged.
Without getting a response from Flynn, Witcher and Sodia grabbed him and carried him away. When they met up with Estelle, Tivar and unconscious Raven and Judith all of them made their escape on the ship that Ba'ul was carrying. Below a dazed Flynn could see the last of those ten men be blasted by a fire spell that no doubt had come from Meavallia.
The next morning Raven woke up with bandages wrapped around his shoulder in a sling, some wrapped around his waist and forehead, and some around his other arm. He saw similar bandaging around everyone else but Estelle who was passed out on another bed.
"She was up all night healing everyone, especially you." Flynn remarked.
"We barely made it out of there alive." Tivar added.
"I would've been dead either by that explosion from the cage or by Meavallia if it hadn't been for you Raven." Judith thanked the injured man.
"Judy, it was nothin'." Raven responded.
"Clearly that was a lot tougher than nothing." Sodia remarked as she and Witcher entered the room. "Me and Witcher will be traveling with you to Aspio and then back to report to Ioder."
"Glad to have you two with us." Flynn stated kindly.
"Oh boy." Tivar stated briefly remembering what the group had said about what would happen if Sodia and Rita met again.
"I don't see a problem with it." Judith decided after a while.
"Me neither." Raven said.
"Great, then it's settled. We'll leave in three days." Witcher stated as he walked out the door and beckoned for Sodia to follow.
"See you then commander." Sodia said to Flynn as she followed Witcher out.
Estelle finally woke up and said, "We're leaving so soon? Oh well, I'm going to go get something for breakfast." She decided.
"I'll go too." Flynn decided as the two hungry comrades walked out of the room. Judith saw Raven asleep and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you, for saving me…and all of that." Judith stated as she ran out to follow the room other to and left Raven to get some rest.
Meanwhile at the fortress Rugulf walked over to stand next to Meavallia.
"So I guess we both failed. I'll give the group a day head start after they leave the city, since we already know they're going to Aspio." Rugulf stated.
"I can't argue with that. What I did, I did to get to the group. I just don't think I enjoyed that at all." Meavallia confessed.
"All I know is that you're good at that sort of thing."Rugulf responded without much thought.
"I'll deal with the overall empire and the guilds and the rest of the continents. You can deal with getting that gem back and defeating that group. How you plan to do that is all up to you. I am leaving now; you should go get on your ship and leave as well." Meavallia said as she walked away.
"Alright then, better go and get prepared." Rugulf said as he too walked away.