"Oww, my head...", grunted Angela as she came to. Silver muttered something about the Beastmen which Angela luckily didn't hear, but what she did hear was the sounds of a third prisoner in the cell next to them.
"Hey, is someone there?", called a female voice.
"Yes, there is. Who are you?", Silver replied, eager to find out about the fate of her fellow prisoner.
"I'm Lise, Princess Lise of Rolante. Who are you, if I may ask? And why were you captured?"
"I'm Silver, Champion of Pedan, and my traveling companion is called Angela, she's the princess of Altena. We were captured at the Cave of Waterfalls because we were able to sneak past the bums... didn't reckon it'd make them that angry..." She was suddenly shushed by Angela, however, who had heard someone coming to them.
"Grrm... Quiet!", shouted the guard as he came down.
"Hey, you moron! ...Yes, you, the idiot guard, there's no other moron in this room, is there?", shouted Silver as a plan formed in her mind – and a darn good plan too. The guard looked around, irritated.
"What's the matter, wench?", he said. This reminded the female fighter of her previous encounter with him.
"I've told you before, my name is Silver, not "wench", and you're just another coward in the ranks of the mighty Beast puppies..." This enraged the guard.
"You're going to die for that!", he shouted as he opened the cell door and came in, very much out to act his words out. Silver recognized the slow, bulky Beastmen as nearly identical to the coward that once had been the champion of Pedan, Goureaud. She sidestepped, took a stone and knocked the guard unconscious. Angela took the keys and opened the other cell door.
"Hey, Lise, you're free to go!", said Silver as she took her sword back. Lise emerged: a young woman with blonde hair, green leather armor, and a sorrowful face. She blinked as she took a good glance at Silver, who gave her her spear back.
"Thanks... hey, you look familiar! Haven't we met before?"
"No, we haven't. You must be talking about someone else..." Silver sighed, she knew what was going to follow.
"Oh? ...Yes, you're right! But he does look a lot like you... You're almost identical!" Lise smiled, but couldn't help but notice that Silver was not the least pleased to be mistaken for the warrior. Angela saw it too, and suggested they got away.
"Indeed, we should be going... But let's get all of the Beastmen first, so Jad doesn't have to worry about occupation anymore."
Silver led the way, and amazed the two princesses by disposing of the first three attackers all by herself, and in one fluent motion. The other rooms were easy. Most of the Beastmen had changed to wolf form, and those that hadn't were at Wendel, guessed Angela. It didn't take them too long to clear the entire city, and the citizens praised them for it (while a few mistook Silver yet again, making her a bit angry) and helped them on their way: they were offered supplies, a free stay at the inn – which they gladly accepted – and a lot of other things. As soon as they told the innkeeper -who immediately recognized Silver as herself, thankfully - they would only have a meal, as they were going to leave soon, he became very helpful.
"Where are you heading, kind ladies?", he asked kindly, after they had finished eating.
"We have to go to Forcena, to speak to King Richard.", answered Angela. Silver nodded and Lise agreed, saying she also needed to go that direction anyway.
"Ah, then you should head to the Free City, Maia. It's one of the only safe cities nowadays, ladies. But be careful, rumor has it that Queen Valda of Altena has planned an invasion of Forcena. Go about your business carefully!" He motioned for the captain of a vessel, spoke to him in private, and seemed to have convinced him to let them go to Maia for 50 gil per person.
"Deal, skipper!", said Silver as she gave the man some money she had gotten from the Rabites they had bested. Angela and Lise got on board as well and the ship sailed off to Maia.
"Angela?" Once the mainland had gotten out of sight, Silver decided to ask Angela on the motives of her mother – which had to be those of Koren, seeing as he controlled her mind.
"Yes?", Angela replied, trying once again to light a lantern to create a bit of light in their cabin – Lise had already gone on deck.
"Why would your mother want to invade Forcena?"
"They have a Mana Stone. The Mana Stone of Earth, which is guarded by another Elemental, for the matter." Angela wiped a strand of hair from her forehead.
"But the dwarves have hidden that stone, and Gnome hasn't been seen above the surface... huh? Where'd that come from?!" Silver had blurted it all out without knowing what she was saying. Angela blinked in the darkness of their cabin: she had even known the name of the Elemental without ever having been in Forcena! "How...?"
"Don't worry your head off about it, Silver, maybe that came from the fairy..." But Angela knew her explanation sounded stupid, even to herself, and that it wasn't even near the truth. Silently, she wondered how it was possible, but soon fell asleep as the darkness descending outside clouded her sight even more.
"Whaddaya mean, the ship has left yesterday?!", shouted Duran to the ship administrator. He had come back to Jad after having helped the priests fight off the attack of the Beast men, but the Priest of Light had fallen ill after defending Wendel from the Beastmen – he had put a shield around the city and the Temple of Light, which had drained him from all his energy - and he still hadn't found a proper answer to his question. And what was more, the rumors of Altena's turning against Forcena, while the two lands were allies since the beginning of time, were growing by the minute. Duran feared for his king and cursed his foolishness to leave his country unprotected while it needed him most. "And when will it return?!"
"Tomorrow. It takes a day to cross the ocean to Maia, and them folks were so eager to go there, so..."
"Wait a minute... what folks?" Duran suddenly grew curious. He remembered encountering the weird marks in the Cave of Waterfalls – Silver's doing. The one that made them, could well be on his way to Forcena.
"Why, the folks that drove away the Beast men! Let's see... one mage girl wearing a crown...", that snooty girl that stood him up the other day, Duran realized, "...and an amazon...", must be princess Lise of Rolante, Duran said to himself, "... oh, and there was someone with them that looked a whole lot like you, sir! Perhaps a twin...?"
"No, he's not my twin..." "Damn you, Silver, you're always beating me to the job!", Duran thought. He sighed, mentally and audibly, and went to the inn to stay there until the ship would return.
"Well, people, I've gotta go now!", said Lise as they got off board in Maia. Silver had gotten to know her while on the ship, as had Angela. She was a very strong person, and Silver shivered as she recalled the Amazon princess' tales on her heavy duty as the leader of the amazon army.
"Wait, where are you going to?", Angela enquired.
"My little brother was kidnapped, and I'm searching for him. Someone told me he might be taken to Byzel to be..." Lise halted. Silver knew what was going to follow, and she felt sorry for the princess if it would turn out to be true.
"I'm sure you'll find him in the end...", she comforted the amazon.
"In the end...", repeated Lise as she was off to Byzel. Angela sighed. She looked at her companion questioningly, as to ask what to do next.
"What do you say we go look for some new equipment?" Silver pointed out their current one was a bit worn down (and she also made Angela realize that Forcena was a land of soldiers and fighters – men that would very much "appreciate" her choice of dress).
"Okay then, equipment shopping it is!", said Angela as she went first to the armor and weapon shop. They were greeted by the shopkeeper, a man that had clearly been taking a nap before they came in.
"Ah, good day, miss... Hey, aren't you...", the man started. Silver grunted, hating the constant confusion that existed.
"I'm not.", stated Silver. "We would like to look at the equipment you have for a mage and a fighter such as ourselves..."
"A mage, eh? Not by chance in service of Altena, are you?", said the man, eyeing Angela darkly from behind the counter. Angela swallowed and giggled nervously.
"No, sir... I'm a traveling magician, actually. "Mage" is such an overrated term, ehehe…"
"Ah...", said the man behind the counter, relaxing, "we have this dress here...", he showed her a dress that covered a bit more than Angela's current one, in a beautiful shade of royal blue. "The color would complement that of your hair, miss."
"And how much damage can this dress take? I mean, we have to fight a lot, sir, it had better hold out longer than this model.", Angela said, clearly very eager to buy, but still sensible enough to watch how to spend her hard-earned money.
"Ah, but it does! It's very tight-woven linen, double-layered, and padded at the sides. Oh, and for you, milady, I have something that'll fit you a bit better than that armor you're wearing right now. It's a chest plate, like that one, but crafted for a lady. Made out of 100% pure iron, and padded with leather on the inside." Silver took a good glance at it and nodded approvingly, glad she could finally buy something that wouldn't squish her bosom.
"We'll take those. Oh, and we could use some new weapons as well, sir."
"Indeed, that cane is nearly broken, and your sword shows a lot of wear-and-tear. These are my latest models..." He showed Angela a longer, but thinner, staff, one in dark wood that had a leather handle, and Silver checked the sword: a brand new blade with some fancy craft work on the handle. The symbols on it were dwarven in origin, obviously. Angela looked questioningly at her companion, her looks begging to give in. Silver was all too eager to: the sword felt like it was made for her.
"We'll buy those as well. They suit our purposes just fine!"
A/N: I'm surprised this took only 5 minutes to spell check! Well, once again, this chapter is brought to you by Her Swiftness, Shade. (A Gladiator's gotta respect his Elemental, hasn't he?) And to add to your curiosity, I have a little fragment (given by Her Swiftness) of what is to come millions of chapters later :D
"Y-you really care that much?!" Kevin looked up at her, eyes illuminated with what was undoubtedly friendship beyond any measure. Silver smiled at him and hugged him again briefly, to show him she was serious.
That's what she gave me. Oh, and allow me to add: there will be romance, class changes, magic, and many fights. None of them will be conventional, however. I'll make sure of that ~_^ (yes, she stole this wink from me!)