The Warriors were lead through the crowded streets easily as people leapt out of the armed guards' path. Soon they came to Babi's Palace and were quickly lead to the throne room. They entered and found Babi, patiently waiting for them. He looked even older now that his Lemurian Draught had run out, but he still commanded respect. He rose to his feet at the sight of the Warriors and spread his arms wide.
"I've been expecting you." He said with a slight wheeze.
"Apologies, your Highness." Isaac said, bowing, "We just got back from Imil."
"Indeed." Babi nodded, "Seems some of you were in Lalivero recently as well."
"That was Isaac and myself." Jenna said brightly, "We had to defeat an enemy that threatened Venus Lighthouse."
"According to Faran, you destroyed half the town in your efforts to defeat this enemy." Babi said, darkly.
"You what!?" Sheba snapped. She stepped in front of Isaac and yelled, "What did you do to my home?"
"We may have caused a little damage," Isaac said more to Babi than Sheba, "but it was not half the town."
Babi looked long and hard at the Warriors. He could see the doubt in Sheba's eyes, but also the honesty in Isaac's. The other Warriors seemed to be holding their breath in anticipation. Babi heaved a sigh and said, "Faran wants the Warriors of Vale Isaac and Jenna to return to Lalivero to stand trial. If they are found guilty, they shall be put to death." Each Warrior opened their mouth to shout at once, but Babi raised his hand for silence. When he spoke again, it was as if he was choosing each word carefully, "I cannot ignore Faran's demands, but I am not about to give up my biggest tourist attraction since Colosso."
"What?" Sheba said, dumbfounded.
"Because of your guild, more people come to Tolbi every year and not only does that make Tolbi stronger, it makes it richer as well."
"You mean it makes you richer!" Sheba snarled, "You care more about your wealth than you do your subjects in Lalivero. You disgust me!"
"Sheba, that's enough." Jenna urged.
"I'm leaving to see the damages for myself." Sheba said, ignoring Jenna. "My father would not threaten with death if the punishment did not fit the crime. Are you coming Felix?"
"I guess I am," Felix said with a sigh, "My apologies Lord Babi, but if you would please excuse us."
Sheba stormed from the room with Felix close behind. The door slammed shut behind them leaving the air very tense. The remaining Warriors hesitantly looked back to Babi who on the contrary seemed quite jovial.
"You have no idea how often I hear that." He chuckled.
"What will this mean for Tolbi's relations with Lalivero, Lord Babi?" Ivan asked.
"I don't know, young Ivan," Babi said, "but war could be on the horizon. In the meantime, please return to your guild and go about your lives as normal. I'll have a team of guards protection you and your guild."
"That's not really necessary…" Isaac mumbled with a quiet affirmation from the other Warriros.
"Please, allow me to help my favorite citizens in this small way."
Isaac shared an uneasy look with the other Warriors and said, "Very well…thank you, your Highness."
The Warriors made their way through the streets considerably slower this time, but soon they made it back to their guild to find no less than five guards on duty. Much to the Warriors' annoyance, the guards wouldn't let them pass without proof of their identity. For this only a simple Psynergy needed to be cast, but that didn't prevent the Mars Adept's tempers rising. They all took a seat at the long table in the guild's main room and their anger came pouring out like a flood.
"Can you believe that?!" Garet yelled, "Having to prove it's us when it's our own home!"
"Forget that, can you believe Lalivero wants to put us to death for saving it?" Jenna bellowed.
"Don't forget Sheba!" Garet roared, pointing in Lalivero's general direction. "Prissy little girl. She knows how strong the Chemists were so why doesn't she believe us?"
"Well imagine if it was Vale that had been attacked." Isaac said, "Wouldn't you feel the same way?"
"Don't tell you're on her side." Jenna said in a dangerous voice.
"Trust me, I'm just as angry as you are." Isaac said, "I'm just trying to see things from her point of perspective and…and trying to find the right answer."
"The right answer is to go knock some sense into Faran's thick skull." Garet said, angrily.
"Well what if we talked to him once more?"
"We already tried that, Isaac." He won't listen." Jenna said, exasperated.
"I agree with Isaac, but to go to Lalivero would be a betrayal of Tolbi and Lord Babi. Unfortunately, there is no good answer right now." Ivan said.
Isaac swore loudly and turned to one of the big fires near the long table. He stared at the flames and coals wishing for an answer to come to him, but he could think of nothing. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Piers standing behind him.
"Whatever you decide, we'll follow you." He said with a sincere smile, "We're your friends so you can count on us."
Isaac nodded and Piers made his way upstairs for his room. Ivan also rose from his chair having decided to study Tolbician and Laliveran law and headed back out into the night. Garet stood up and stretched before announcing he was going to go look for a pretty lady. Jenna was the last to rise and she moved closer to Isaac by the fire.
"What are you thinking?" she asked softly.
"I'm wondering what this means for the world…and for us." Isaac said somberly.
"Do you really think it'll come to war?"
"Seems that depends on Lalivero now."
"And if they want war?"
"I don't know." Isaac said, staring into the fire again.
Jenna gently turned Isaac around so that he was looking at her and said, "Regardless, you still have me."
Isaac smiled and kissed Jenna before they too went upstairs for bed.
The sun was just rising over the sands as Felix and Sheba arrived in Lalivero. The flying ship settled on a dune just outside the town and the two Warriors easily disembarked. As they made their way to town a group of soldiers came running up to them. Sheba waved jovially, but was answered with swords and spears.
"What is the meaning of this?" Sheba demanded.
"Are you not Isaac and Jenna of the Golden Sun Guild?" one soldier said.
"Of course not!" Sheba exclaimed, "I'm Sheba of Lalivero and this is Felix of Vale."
"We must still take you to Faran." The soldier said uncertainly.
"Fine, that's where we're heading anyway."
As they were escorted through the town, Sheba looked for signs of destruction, but she could find none. They easily made it to Faran's house and when the door was answered, Sheba and Felix were immediately recognized. The soldiers released them with many apologies and were curtly dismissed. Once inside, Sheba found Faran and despite how harassed he looked, he greeted the Warriors warmly.
"It's good to see you again, Father." Sheba said, hugging Faran.
"It's good to see you too, child and you too, Felix." Faran said with a smile.
Felix returned the smile and merely shook Faran's hand, "We've heard that our friends caused a bit of damage."
"A bit?" Faran said, his whole demeanor changing in an instant, "They destroyed a good portion of my town."
"I didn't see any on the way here, Father."
"You didn't?" Faran said with a mirthless laugh, "Let me show you."
Faran lead them out of his house and down a couple streets before giving a broad gesture. Here the street was littered with large chunks of rock and pot holes while the sides of several buildings were scorched black and others had melted. Sheba fell to her knees as her eyes moved from crater to melted rock to scorched earth and back again. Tears began to stream down her slender face and while Felix tried to comfort her, she couldn't hear him over the sounds of her own sobs.
"You understand what your friends did now?" Faran said angrily to Felix. "Imagine a portion of my town crying like this. This is the crime they must answer for."
Felix tore his eyes away from the sobbing Sheba and moved into the destroyed section of the city. He couldn't deny the evidence of Venus and Mars Psynergy, but as he looked around, more of the damage seemed to be from other sources. True there were scorch marks on the streets and spires of stone erupted at random spots, but far more of the buildings were melted. Even most of the rocks Isaac had manipulated seemed somewhat eroded. Felix called upon Echo for a second opinion and the djinni confirmed his theory.
Felix made his way back to Sheba who had calmed down. He touched her shoulder and smile before turning to Faran. "After inspecting the damage, I have to agree with my friends, Faran."
"What?" Faran and Sheba said in unison.
"More stuff looks melted than burnt or manipulated through Psynergy." Felix explained, "I've consulted my djinn and they agree with me. Please drop the charges against Isaac and Jenna because if you don't, Babi will protect them with his army…and I fear you will lose."
For a moment Faran said nothing, but thing his face contorted with rage, "Your friends said the same thing, but I don't believe it."
"How can you not believe it?" Felix yelled, "The evidence is right there."
"SILENCE!" Faran bellowed, "I will not be lectured or threatened in my city!"
"I'm not threatening you, I'm trying to warn you-"
"Guards! Arrest this man!" Faran yelled.
Before Felix could react, he was face down in the sand with two burly guards holding him down. He tried to resist, to convince Faran to listen, but something hard hit him in the head and everything went dark.
"Father, please, release him!" Sheba pleaded.
"Quiet, Sheba or I'll have you join him."
Shocked by Faran's words, Sheba subsided and watched as Felix's unconscious body was dragged away.
Felix stirred and came to. He rubbed his head and felt a bump where he's been hit, but besides that, he felt fine. His eyes took a minute to adjust, but soon he found that he was in a prison cell. He moved to the one barred window of his cell and saw that night had fallen on the sands. He turned back to his cage and saw only a bed. He checked it and found the sheets full of sand. Probably not that comfortable without sand either. Felix thought to himself. He grumpily sat down and summoned Echo to send a message to Isaac. With that done, Felix laid down and tried to get comfortable, but the sand in the bed made it impossible. He had just about had it when a sudden idea struck him. He glanced at the floor and sure enough, it was sand. Felix sent another djinn to Sheba and cast his Sand Psynergy. His body slowly dissolved into sand and it was a simple matter to slide through the bars. As he re-materialized, Felix wondered why it had taken him so long to think of this, but he pushed that from his mind. He found his gear and quickly left the jail.
Felix had just closed the door when the djinn he'd sent to Sheba appeared at his shoulder. "I'm at my father's house, meet me outside." The djinn said in Sheba's voice.
Felix nodded and made his way stealthily through the city. He soon came to Faran's house and saw a single flickering candle in an upper window. He found a small rock and tossed it at the window. Sheba immediately appeared and pointed to the door beneath her window. Felix nodded and flattened himself against the wall next to the door. A few minutes later it opened, but it wasn't Sheba that appeared.
"Hey there, pretty boy." A gruff voice said.
Felix stepped back as one of the burly guards from before exited Faran's house. He wasn't alone either; ten more guards appeared from the shadows, surrounding Felix. He was about to make a break for it when he heard Sheba calling out to him. He looked up and saw her through the second story window.
"I'm sorry, Felix." She was saying, "Father explained to me what happened that night. He told me that Isaac and Jenna let that much of the town be destroyed. Look at how easily they were defeated by us and the others with minimal damage, yet here in my Lalivero, a good portion was damaged and destroyed. The only explanation is that they let the destruction happen."
Felix couldn't believe his ears, "What about Imil? I suffered destruction, but just decided to rebuild."
"The destruction they suffered was far less than our own." Sheba said bluntly.
Felix knew it was a battle he couldn't win. He swore loudly and threw himself at the wall of guards behind him. He managed to knock two of them out before Sheba cast her Sleep Psynergy and Felix fell unconscious again.
Faran appeared next to Sheba in the window and looked down on the scene, "Well played child." He said soothingly, "Now we just need to put him back in jail and-"
"No, Father, let me watch over him." Sheba said, "He'll only break out again under regular supervision."
"Very well then." Faran said, "Guards, bring him up here."
As Faran left her room, Sheba summoned Swift, her fastest Djinn and sent it to Isaac. She glanced at Felix once more and a single tear fell down her cheek.
Back in Tolbi, the Golden Sun was a stark contrast to the dark town. Fires still burned in the hearth and Jenna and Piers were shouting at the tops of their lungs. There were so outraged by the last two Djinni messaged that they seemed ready to march on Lalivero tonight.
Isaac was doing his best not to be swept away with the sea of emotion, but he had to admit that he was ready to level Lalivero himself. Isaac only managed to quiet them down when Ivan and Garet walked back into the guild. They looked around confused until Jenna; too furious to talk pointed at the Venus and Jupiter Djinn sitting on the table. Ivan curiously picked up the Venus Djinni and they all heard Felix say, "Tried to convince Faran that Isaac and Jenna are innocent and Faran's answer was to throw me in jail. About to break out and regroup with Sheba."
"What the-" Garet began, but Jenna cut him off and jabbed a finger at the Jupiter Djinni. Garet picked it up and Sheba's voice said, "My father has shown me the true extent of the damages done to my Lalivero. Please Isaac, Jenna, just turn yourselves over to the guards and accept your punishment."
It was as if a bomb went off inside the guild as fresh rage flowed through the five Warriors. Ivan was at a complete loss for words and Garet's rage was enough to shock even Jenna. Finally Isaac calmed them down again.
"We need to talk to Faran one last time." He said, trying to keep his voice level.
"You're not still on about that are you?" Jenna snapped, "The man wants us dead Isaac."
"Technically he just wants you to stand trial." Ivan said, but quickly changed course under Jenna's withering glare, "Isaac is right though, we must try to settle this without war."
"What do we do then?" Garet asked.
"We have to go back to Babi." Isaac said.
I took the better part of an hour, but the Warriors stood before Babi who sat upon his throne in his night clothes. He yawned deeply and regarded them through half-open eyes. "I hope you've woken me at this late hour for a good reason." He said, a slight chill in his voice.
Isaac quickly explained the situation with Lalivero and had the Djinn repeat their messages. Babi said nothing during Isaac's speech, listening intently. When he was done, Babi asked to use the faster of the two Djinni. Isaac held up Swift the Jupiter Djinn and Babi said, "I, Lord Babi of Tolbi, will not hand over the Warriors of Vale, Isaac and Jenna. My army will protect them with their lives. Stand down or face the consequences."
With that the Jupiter Djinn was gone with the wind, leaving the Warriors staring at Babi with a look of shock.
"No please," Babi said with a heavy sigh, "Return to me when you have a reply."
The Warriors turned to leave, but suddenly Ivan clutched his head. He winced, but then relaxed, "Sheba has already received the message and she speaks for Faran via telepathy, 'If that is the case, then Lalivero shall sever all ties with Tolbi-'"
"They won't last a week without us." Babi chuckled.
"Lalivero will also begin destruction of Babi Lighthouse unless the Warriors Isaac and Jenna are delivered to us." Ivan added. The smile on Babi's face vanished and was replaced with a menacing scowl.
"Faran, touch one brick of my Lighthouse and I'll level your village and cut out anyone's tongue who dares to whisper the name Lalivero!"
"'Those are our conditions.' The link has been severed." Ivan said somberly.
The Warriors looked at Babi who seemed to be suffering an internal conflict. He now had to choose between the Warriors of Vale, his greatest money maker and Babi Lighthouse, his legacy and greatest treasure. He heaved another heavy sigh and came to a decision.
"My young friends, go home and get some rest." He rose to his feet dramatically, "Tolbi is going to war with Lalivero."