... Wandering brutes...
"What is his name?"
"Isaac."
"So he should be the ones who will pursue the thief?"
"Yes."
"Pandemonium... You will look after the boy?"
"I cannot. The requiem already does."
"Can we trust the requiem?"
"No. But we will have to at the moment."
"Isaac. So it begins. Escort him back to his village and his companion. Things will unravel there."
Isaac woke in fright. He glanced around looking for Jenna or anyone from that room. He began to stand, but felt stiff to the bone. Isaac thought he was dead. All he could remember was laying on the ground when a wave of images washed over him making him feel sick. The last thing he remembered was surreal. The ceiling that looked like the sun crashed down onto him and he could feel his skin obliterate and flesh peel off. And then, he felt like he disappeared for a second. It was as if he faded away for a moment unable to remember who he was. Isaac found Garet near his side where he slept and woke him up. Garet awoke frightened as well and clueless. But then remembered what happened and asked Isaac, "Where's Jenna? What happened?"
"I dunno. I just woke up like this." Isaac looked around trying to find the area familiar. The grand hall and collapsed pillar reminded him of the entrance. They followed their memory of where the exit should be and made it outside. Suddenly, they felt the entire mountain shaking. "This is bad. Let's run back to the village." Isaac said.
"What about Jenna? What if she is still in there?" Garet exclaimed. Isaac looked back in the entrance. He figured that if she was, there would be no hope now. The mountain that sol sanctum was built on began to fall apart. Boulders and rocks came flying down, crashing into the ground next to them. Some of the rocks seemed molten with lava. Isaac knew how head strong Garet was and had to reason with him. Isaac found in his pocket a mythril bag with the Mars star in it. "Garet, she was captured by those people. They probably took her out."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I still have the Mars star. If they were smart, they would've used Jenna as a negotiation in order to get it. So we'll keep it safe until we find them okay?" Garet was uneasy still, but believed Isaac. They quickly left the mountain as sol sanctum begin to tremble with the volcano.
The sky turned into a deadly red. The blue it once was was covered by a dark smoke covering the sunlight. It was as if the clouds turned the village into midnight. Spurs of lava lit up the volcano lighting up the village in a brilliant and bloody red. Isaac and Garet ran with adrenaline pumping in them. They sprinted without looking behind them. The bright red the volcano gave turned the village into a deadly shade and they began to feel fear knowing that they might not make it. The village seemed to have evacuated in time and Isaac and Garet were the only ones left in the village. The complete isolation scared them and they ran with fear. They kept running and running. Isaac made sure to see that Garet kept up though his stamina was still strong and Garet did the same. So Garet ran his fastest and Isaac kept up with him. As they ran, they caught a glimpse of someone in the shadows and Isaac called out to them. "Hey! This place is dangerous! You have to run!" The shadow revealed itself and it was Avalon. "There you are Isaac! We've been searching all over for you! Where were you?"
"...I'll have to explain it later."
"Okay that's fine. We haven't been able to find Jenna yet. We're going to stay and-"
"No, don't. She's not here."
"What? How do you know?"
"Please, you have to trust me with this. I'll fill you in later. We have to go now."
"...Okay. Lets fall out."
The three of them ran back to the town square, and outside the gate of the village. After another mile or so, they slowed down. Isaac looked behind him and saw the volcano shining a grand color of red that glowed in the dark clouds. Its auburn color outlined the village and Isaac felt his heart freeze. As they walked towards a camp of tents and people hidden in a small forest, Avalon began to ask questions. "Where were you two?"
"It's really complicating. I think I need to save it for the great healer about this."
"No Isaac. Tell me now." Isaac slowed down and Garet did as well. They looked down, unable to meet Avalon's eyes. "We... We were in sol sanctum."
"In sol sanctum? May I ask why?"
"There were these people that showed up at Kraden's place and we thought that they were going to break in the sol sanctum. We were going to tell you, but Kraden convinced us to go in there ourselves. He said he wasn't certain so he said it would be best to go in there and confirm the description first and then tell you to be certain. But then he got carried away and a lot of things happened and we were in this room with the sanctum's treasure, but before I stopped him, a group of people came and capture Jenna and Kraden and stole the treasure and left and then... This happened..." Avalon didn't look at them in the eyes after that. She looked away and turned her body to the direction that the great healer was located. Even if Isaac tried to meet her eye, she gazed away. Isaac glanced at Garet who had his eyes to the ground the entire time. "Follow me to the great healer. You'll receive judgment there." Avalon walked and the two followed.
As they walked, Giles spotted them and greeted them. "Yo Isaac and ... Mayer's grandkid. Thought you guys disappeared." Giles didn't catch on Avalon's tense mood quickly and when he did, he piped down. "Giles, find Dora and tell her that Isaac is okay." He nodded and went away.
They found the great healer tending a wounded man who had burns on his shoulder. It was probably from the flying rocks Isaac figured. The great healer had his hand barely hovering from the wound and a warm yellow light emitted on it made the red flesh disappear and the wound close up and the man's skin was flawless. The man thanked the healer and Avalon whispered something in the healer's ear. The great healer stood up and said, "Isaac, Garet, please follow me."
They followed Avalon and the great healer away from the camp and in a section where they were away from the villagers. Isaac felt his muscles tense up and he knew something bad would happen. But before that, the great healer looked towards the mountain and kneeled to it. He had his eyes close and had his hands in prayers. A gathering of blue appeared and began to form an image of a man. The man was old and looked weary. The image faded and the gathering of blue dispersed. The blue light and balls of light floated into the great healer and after kneeling for a couple of moments longer, he stood back up. "The wise one told me what happened." He said. Isaac looked at the healer expecting his judgment and punishment, but instead, he asked questions after question. "Why were you there?" Before Isaac answered, Avalon answered and told him about confirming evidence. Avalon was stagnant and said it with no emotion.
"You could have had your subordinate answer that captain."
"No. I don't want him twisting the truth or anything. He was honest when he explained it to me, so I gave you an honest answer."
"Well okay. Now since that's answered, I need Isaac to answer this. Is Kraden someone we can trust?"
"No."
"Why?"
"He became a bit insane when excavating the sanctum. He's a bit obsessive."
"Okay. What happened to Jenna and Felix?"
"Felix? What do you mean?"
"Ah. I see he didn't reveal himself. The masked man was Felix."
"That's not possible. He died."
"Indeed, but it is the facts." Isaac bit his lip and rubbed his forehead. He had trouble comprehending the fact Felix was alive. "Now answer the question."
"I don't know about Felix. But Jenna was captured."
"How do you know?"
"I still have one of the treasure from the sanctum. If they want it back, they will have Jenna."
"So a circumstantial connection?" Isaac didn't answer that. The healer he once believed was kind and caring was now a harsh and irritating man to Isaac. Avalon no longer seemed to have supported Isaac and he started to feel abandoned. He was in a spot and felt no comfort. He was scared and couldn't think correctly. He kept thinking of what was going to happen to him and feared the worst. "I need details Isaac."
"What do you mean?"
"Be descriptive. How did it happen? Was she captured by a blue man?"
"No. It was a red lady."
"What was her weapon?"
"Her weapon?" Isaac started to picture Jenna with a sharp scythe resting on her shoulder making his heart feel heavy. "A scythe."
"Did the wise one tell you anything?"
"Who?"
"The wise one. You met it didn't you?"
"No... I don't remember."
"Isaac. If you're lying, the punishment will be more severe."
"I don't know! I didn't even remember a wise one! I just... I don't remember anything after I gave them the stars-"
"You gave them the stars?" Avalon said with a bit of fury in her eyes.
"I-I... They made me... They said if I didn't go and help them gather it, they would kill Jenna..." The great healer put his hand up to stop Avalon from getting anymore involved. Isaac felt his heart heavy now and kept brushing his hair and rubbing his forehead with shame and guilt eating into him. Garet stood there with his head down unable to look at neither of them and looked at Isaac who with sympathy as the questions became an interrogation. "Moving on. So let me repeat this. You went to the sanctum to confirm evidence. Now since you're hearing it again, does it makes sense?"
"...No."
"So your actions are not justifiable?"
"...No."
"Then what you have done is a crime. It wouldn't be very harmful if you didn't lead the thieves into the star room."
"We... How the hell were we suppose to know?"
"You are a guardian Isaac. You should know your duty and what your job is. This includes what not to do as well. But this is more than shame." The great healer began to walk towards the mountain in deep thought. "The stars are the keys to unleashing the madness of the lighthouses. If unleashed, the world will be exposed to the threat of alchemy. The world's destruction is what the consequences of what you have done." Isaac bit his lips feeling the urge to cry. He didn't mean it to happen, and it was the last thing on his mind. Isaac began to feel the weight of the guilt on his shoulder. It was monstrous and was already starting to kill him. "I didn't mean too... All of this... It isn't my fault..."
"Not all of it, but you allowed this to happen." Isaac was prepared now. He was expecting a death sentence now. He looked at Garet who had his head down the entire time. He saw drips of tears fall from his cheeks. "The wise one has spoken to me. There will be no punishment, but you will own up to your responsibilities, both of you." Garet finally looked up to the great healer and nodded. Isaac looked away and did the same. Tears began to leak from his eyes. He was red from an anger erupting from him, but also red from the confusion and fear of leaving his mother. "Garet... He had nothing to do with it. It was all my fault. It was my full responsibility. I was stupid. Please don't drag him down with me. He was just there."
"No. Everyone knows not to go there. He was just as irresponsible as you were. Garet will receive treatment equal to yours despite being the mayors grandchild." Both of them were crying. Isaac kept rubbing his cheeks and nose and Garet looked down lifeless letting his eyes and nose run. The great healer made the announcement. "Isaac, Garet, are hereby expelled from vale with the highest power invested in me, the great healer and seer of the wise one. But I will spare mercy on thee with the confidentiality to protect your reputation of the village. I will announce your banishment as a journey so you will have the gratitude or the villagers upon your leave."
"That it very generous of you great healer, but I can't have that." Isaac said.
"Yeah. I don't want it if its a lie. Just tell my family and reason with my granddad. He'll give you a hard time, but he's a man of the rules." Garet choked.
"... Very well. I need to talk to captain first." They walked away from the two and into the forest to talk alone. Isaac kept crying, unable to stop his tears. Garet did the same but with his head to staring at the ground. Isaac looked back up at the two and at Garet. When he could control his breathing again, he said, "We'll be okay Garet. We'll get Jenna back. We'll see our family again. We'll be happy. Just you wait."
"Yeah man. I know. Everything's gonna be okay."
"We have to be as easy on the boys as possible. We should try to still keep their reputation solid. I don't want the people to hate him. I think we can still come up with an alibi for them." Avalon said.
"Captain... Do you question what judgment I made there?" The healer asked quietly.
"No I do not."
"Don't be shy Avalon. I need to know this." Avalon looked back at the two boys and said, "Sending just them is reckless. We should have a team to go. They are just young boys. I mean there should be some responsibility for them, but them alone is just too much."
"I feel the same way. But the wise one, it is not someone to negotiate with. He is holding back the explosion of the volcano in and the lava as well, it's protecting the village. I fear if I resist, it will harm the village. It wanted Isaac alone, and it wanted me to ensure that Isaac knew that the lighthouses come first and if he loses the Mars star, it would be worse than losing his life. I can't tell him that yet. He needs something easy to believe in to ease the weight on his shoulder. It is not there fault, in fact, expulsion was rash. I expelled Garet as well to not crush Isaac, but I fear it would just crush them all. But it is what the wise one order. My duty is to protect the village, whatever it takes." Avalon looked at the Isaac, feeling guilty for seeming so harsh. She was scared for his future and wondered what Dora would think about it. But it was what was right in the end.
"Great healer, you fulfilled your job. No one should be forced to make the decision you make. I trust your judgment."
"Thank you Avalon. Now an alibi... We must have something the mayor must believe and something Dora can believe as well. I don't believe that telling them the wise one said so will suffice."
"To be honest, any alibi won't be enough. Dora isn't stupid enough to fall for anything and the mayor is blunt and just won't accept it. But they are all righteous people and will believe in the greater good over themselves. We will keep it confidential with them and their family. Will that be enough to keep things an even queue?"
"Yes, you may be right. Lets take them back to camp. We'll give them tomorrow afternoon to leave. Go talk to Dora, I'll handle the mayor."
Avalon and the great healer went back to the two. They seemed a bit more relaxed than how they left them. "Come on Isaac. I'll explain things to your mother. Garet, the great healer will take you to your family." They looked at each other and split up to the two.
Isaac followed behind Avalon as she took him back to camp. "Side by side Isaac. Keep up." Avalon said. He caught up and they walked side by side which syncing steps. Isaac was weary, but did not forget his dignity he felt with Avalon. But at the moment, he figured dignity wouldn't save him from this predicament. He found his mother standing near a tree looking at the red sky the volcano emitted. Dora heard the grass crunch behind her and Isaac ran into her arms and she held him tight. Avalon stood there watching as Dora walked towards her to thank her after Isaac calmed down. Avalon didn't show any gratitude acceptance and instead began to explain what happened and what Isaac will have to do. Avalon emphasized the greater good and secrets the common towns people didn't know. Dora stood and listen and Isaac was quiet. "... The great healer also told me that the wise one only wants your son and Garet to go, no other."
"The wise one is quite unreasonable."
"I... I'm sorry."
"Its not your fault Avalon. I'm just saying... So when does he leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"Okay." Avalon walked away after that. She was surprised how easy that went. But when she looked back, she found Dora's face in Isaac's chest hearing small moaning and tears dribbling onto her cheek. Avalon turned back around and walked away with a guilt crushing her heart.
The great healer was patient. While Garet's mom held him in her arms with his siblings surrounding him crying and his dad and grandparents yelling at him, he stood there perfectly still. He didn't make a move until his dad broke down crying with his heavy arms pushing away the great healer with a weak force. The great healer put his hands on his shoulder trying to comfort him. The great healer tried his best to sound reasonable in this unreasonable case. He tried to explain the mayor the extremes of the crime and how they were at the mercy of the wise one but they didn't listen. They had no justification besides Garet was their family. Finally, the mayor's reason came back and he held back his son from the great healer. "Common Nate. Don't take this out on the healer."
"Why? Why this? He's just a boy. This doesn't make sense..."
"Please. We have to think this through. Please." The mayor took back his son and wife back to where Garet was. They looked at him and he had water and snot running down his eyes and nose. "Don't worry about me pops. I'll be all good."
"Garet..." They were all weary and tired from crying and screaming. "He's not leaving today." The mayor demanded.
"Of course not. Tomorrow morning." The great healer left them and the family surrounding Garet and held him tight.
Around midnight was when they head back to the village. The explosion was not fatal to the village besides a couple of small rocks that broke the roof the houses. When the sky calmed to a settling grey, the villagers head back to their homes and rested. But Isaac stayed up late, unable to sleep. After a fulfilling dinner that would be his last, he went tried to go to sleep. He heard the fire crackle downstairs and knew his mom was up. Thinking of it made it hard to sleep. As he tried to sleep, a wave of guilt washed over him. When he kept connecting the blame, it all went down to him. He didn't bother blaming anyone else. It felt heavy. He ruined his mom's life. He ruined his good friends life. He felt responsible for everything that happened. He couldn't help it. He wanted to stop thinking and just close his eyes and drift away, but it was very difficult. Instead he got back up and began to rummage through his bag of supplies. There was nothing he could do. He had a sudden urge to organize things. He took whatever belonging that was small and essential and found a very small stash of barely anything. He took a couple spares of cloths into his duffle bag and got up and left his room. He saw his mom sitting at the couch and watched him come downstairs. Isaac stared into her heavy eyes and went to tell her, "I'm going to go and get ready now. Thanks and goodbye mom." He pat her shoulder and left the house going to the the sanctum. He felt a stigma while leaving. He knew he should've done a proper goodbye rather than leaving at midnight. But it just felt wrong. He hastily walked to the sanctum.
When he got to the sanctum, he went straight to the storage room and began to gather supplies. He put his duffle bag down and began to suit up. He put on his leather guard and wrapped the straps around him and then put on his sword in the strap of his back. He put on his belt of supplies and tightened it checking for his lighter, his small knives, his medical supplies, his lock pocking tools, and anything he thought might be useful. He strapped on his dagger on his thighs. He put on his boots on tight. He put on his gauntlets with finger hole gloves.
After gathering everything, he sat on the corner then laid on the floor. He couldn't help it anymore and began to cry tearing himself apart for stupid reasons he couldn't understand himself. Everything that went wrong was his fault. He couldn't complain, he couldn't blame, all he could do was handle the heavy burden he tricked himself with that weight on his shoulder. The weight was crushing him and he cried feeling pathetic and alone. For the moment, dying didn't feel to bad.
Isaac woke back up with a tug on his shoulder. It was Giles. He was already in uniform and asked, "You're in uniform early. You should've tried to enjoy the last couple of days home." He said.
"How do you know?" Isaac asked.
"I heard Avalon and the great healer. We earth adepts have good hearing you know. Anyway, what the hell are you doing here?"
"It doesn't feel right at home." Giles looked at Isaac in the eye as he began to stand. They were roughly the same height and Giles felt like he was staring in the eyes of his commander. Isaac didn't feel like a child anymore and Giles felt like he could understand him a bit more and decided to ease him, just a little bit.
"Follow me." Giles said. Isaac did and they were taken to a room with lockers. "After a while in the force, the sanctum begins to feel like a home where we practically live here, so we had ordered some lockers. Home felt weird for me too, but because of personal reasons and stuff. I think Sam is the only one that doesn't have one because she goes back home often. But all of us, including your pops had one."
"My dad had one? But then you're saying..."
"Yeah. Even he felt like his own house became a bit fuzzy for him. I wondered why, and I could recall moments when he acted strange. I remember this one time a couple years ago when we were on this mission to capture this killer after we found some bodies near the village. The culprit was this old man and he tried to escape by jumping into the river and Kyle shot him with an arrow. But when I think about it some more, it didn't look like he was escaping. It didn't look like Kyle wanted to kill him even. It was... Weird. And I think what he was feeling made him feel like a stranger to himself. That night, he almost didn't go home if Avalon didn't convince him to go home." Isaac stayed quiet. He looked around the room and Giles finally said, "You ain't alone. Home gets weird sometimes. Just find those people that can get you back away from weird and you'll be okay."
Giles went to one locker with Isaac and told him, "Open it. You got those lock picking things I taught you to use? Use em." Isaac went through his pocket and took out a tension wrench and a classic wire hooked shape lock pick. He went through it gently so his thumbs and fingers could feel the tiny contraptions of the lock and finally opened it. What he saw looked familiar. It was a long blue trench coat that reached his knee and a yellow scarf on a hook. There were also some spare cloths and a pocket watch hanging where the scarf was. He was about to ask who's locker it was when he saw a picture of his dad, mom, and him as an infant. He picked it off and looked at it. He was smiling in the picture, something he didn't see too much of. He saw his mother smile too with a baby in her arms and he felt happy. He placed it in his pocket. "You can clean it out." Giles said. "Captain kept bothering me to handle this locker and clear it out, but we both didn't feel right opening this locker. But with you here... Maybe you can. Maybe then you can feel that you aren't alone." Giles walked away leaving Isaac alone. Isaac took the coat off its hanger and took off his belt to put it on. He took off the yellow scarf and put it on. They both felt warm. He held the scarf close to his nose and took a deep breath of it and it smelled a lot like his dad when he comes home smelly and sweaty. He took the watch and found it working perfectly and put it in his pocket with his picture. He closed the locker and walked away. It really did feel like he was watching over him.
Isaac went to a desk with a pen and paper. He began to write the introduction to a letter and started it with dear mother. The letter went like this.
Dear mother,
I'm sorry I left you in a state like that. I felt frustrated, confused, and terrible for what was happening. I may not be very compatible with speaking, so i need to write it into words. I want to say, thank you for everything. A part of you will always live in me and I promise you I will come back so we can share it once again. The moments from here on out will be hard, but we must endure. I'm sorry I will have to leave you lonely, but I need you to be strong. I can't bear the thought of you suffering and I hope this won't come out like a burden. Please, be happy.
Love Isaac.
Isaac wondered if it was a note that expressed his thoughts. He wondered if he could make things a bit better for his mother. He wanted to be as honest as possible. He was trusting his honesty hoping that it could put his mother in a peace of mind.
Garet came around ten. He looked a bit better than the last time Isaac saw him and he was glad to see it. But he had an unusual gloom to his mood. Isaac went to help Garet outfit himself with supplies and his own bag. They checked their things with Giles and he approved and said, "Alright. You kids are good to go."
"Is Avalon here?" Isaac asked.
"Nah. Her day off today." Isaac looked down and bit his lip. He asked to be excused for a moment and he went to write something on paper and left it in her office. It took about five minutes. Isaac came back out and left the sanctum with Garet. "Goodbye Giles. Tell Sam I said Bye."
"Take care of yourself man."
As they left the village, the two of them saw their houses. Garet took a long look at his and made a deep sign. Isaac saw it and asked, "You okay?" Garet nod his head. He didn't say anything and kept walking. As Isaac passed his, he placed the letter in the doorstep in a secure spot under the rug, but visible. He didn't take another look at it and quickly walked away. Garet noticed it in contrast to his and said, "That was weird." Isaac didn't say anything either and the both of them left to the front gate.
They walked into the town square which was lively today. They saw people with bright faces walk down the road they were on and they greeted them with a morning. The two of them awkwardly smiled and replied back. When they asked what was with the big bags, they simply said, grocery shopping. It was almost as if the entire town was there. People kept passing them and they couldn't avoid them. They kept greeting not only them, but each other non stop and they could feel the life in the people as they passed by. They were all smiling and Isaac and Garet felt out of place. But they felt like they were starting to blend in. They were smiling again. They were greeting the villagers before they greeted them, even the ones that don't seem like in the mood. When people asked about the bag, they sometimes made up stuff along the way. Isaac said that they were going to go camping to relieve some stress and Garet said that they were getting supplies to explore the world. They laughed jollily together making people think that they were kidding around. They found themselves laughing, smiling, and living again. They walked to near the fountain with a psynergy stone in the middle. There were children and dogs running around happily and people relaxing in the shade and benches scattered about. Everyone was so happy and they couldn't help but to feel happy too. But when they reached to the gate, the soldier opened for them and they felt a pull in their hearts. They took a long look back and turned back around remembering what they had to do. They walked through it and they closed the gate behind them after a couple of steps. The happiness and liveliness disappeared the second they heard the gates slam shut. They looked at each other for a moment and began to walk the trail laid out for them.
The grasslands were vast and empty and the trail was hard to recognized. The mountains help guide their path, but it didn't even feel like they were moving because everything looked like the same. Their steps drowned with the wind and grass shuffling and they walked in silence. They kept following the trail until the trail faded with the grass around it. They began to walk in the yellow long grass as it brushed against their legs. The wind felt good against their face and their hair floated in the direction of the air. Their village began to slowly disappear from sight. They walked a steady pace and the silence began to feel eerie. Isaac looked at Garet and he had his head down the entire time. He just seemed to walk in the direction Isaac was going. After a bit, Isaac gently shoved him. Garet crossed his steps and almost tripped and looked up at Isaac. When their eyes met, Isaac said, "Be angry, sad, or something. Just feel something and show it. Please." Garet looked back down and walked again. Isaac looked back to where they were heading. His heart felt heavy and he wondered if Garet's did as well which was a solid bet. They seemed to wander aimlessly in the tall grass in silence with the cold tingling on their skin.
