Hello! Before I leave you to it, I'd like to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing for their show of appreciation. It really means alot to me, especially when it comes time for me to write a new chapter. Finally, here is the seventh chapter: Astounded.


Chapter 7: Astounded

Piers' Ship

The party was not asleep for long before Piers pulled the ship from its mooring and set sail for Yallam. As Kraden and the Adepts ate breakfast in the kitchen, Felix pardoned himself and took his meal on deck to keep Piers, who had risen and eaten several minutes ago, company. Felix had pulled up a stool from indoors and sat himself upon it as he ate. Piers eyed him nervously.

Perhaps now, if I ease into it, he thought to himself. He cleared his throat and thought to say something, only nothing easily came to mind. Then came something, though he was not certain it would help him achieve his purpose. Even so, seeing Jenna distressed as she was some days ago disturbed him. As her party member, it would only be natural to question Felix is she were doing well, would it not? Her brother would not take it offensively, then destroying any chance Piers had to swerve the conversation in the direction that he wanted it to go, would he?

"How are you?"

Piers blinked into awareness. Felix had stolen his thunder.

"Sorry?"

The Venus Adept shifted on his stool, trying to find a more comfortable position. Having found one, he asked, "What's on your mind?" Felix raised some food to his mouth.

The Lemurian shifted around on his feet in discomfort; he was not accustomed to Felix asking him personal questions. Sure, this was not the typical idea of "personal," but such was Felix's way. Usually, it was Piers who began with such questions; Felix, on the other hand, would ask more standard questions: "Do you like catfish?" for instance.

Piers sighed. His window of opportunity could not have been clearer. He began, "Have you ever had affections for a girl before?"

Felix raised his head sharply in curiosity, himself in mid-chew. He lowered his eyes; his stomach lurched and his hand twitched slightly. "I have," he muttered.

"I do believe I am afflicted with such affections. Felix," Piers said slowly, "I want you to understand one thing before I continue. Do not hesitate to object to my request; should you refuse, I shall take it well. I am accustomed to putting aside such feelings."

"What are you getting at?"

Piers shook his head. "Tell me you would not hesitate to deny me."

"I won't." Felix paused. For a few minutes, silence hung between the two men. Then, "You have my word, Piers."

"Good." Piers lowered his gaze to the waters before him and thought of home. He was free for it, now. He could finally have something only dreams could have given him if he were back at Lemuria. Things were so different here. What a blessing that storm was, taking him sooner than anticipated.

Finding his courage, Piers finally let the words leave his lips. "I am rather taken by your sister Jenna."

Felix felt his breath leave his agape mouth; his body became stiff. His capability to speak — let alone think — was shot, as if ice had frozen him over cruelly. A breeze blew, sending chills up and down his body, but Piers seemed altogether unaffected. He looked straight forward, gazing towards the horizon as if he had not said a thing and all the most recent events had only taken place in Felix's head.

In truth, however, if the silence that stood between the two men could kill, Piers would have died a hundred thousand times. So long did it seem to linger that Piers' feet grew numb. He swallowed hard and concentrated on the connection between his psynergy and the ship, but to no avail. The sound of his breathing seemed so loud against the shrill cry of nothing that he worked to breathe shallower, thereby allowing himself to hear Felix's response, whatever it was, to his confession. Even the waters seemed to lower their voices to the rhythmic beating of two paranoid hearts.

Meanwhile, several different questions and phrases were running through Felix's head, far too quickly for him to catch the words but slowly enough that he knew the meaning they held. One thing, however, that managed to surface clearly was the idea to be slightly more trusting and open to Piers. Surely, he was genuine and respectful enough. Whatever was rushing through Felix's mind fast as lighting swayed him enough to decide to give Piers a decent chance. But first…

"Do you mean to act on your feelings for her?"

"I do, if you do not think a potential relationship would obstruct the ability of this team to function smoothly." Piers was nervous, falling back into usual habits of courteous, courtly sentence structure.

Of course it will, Felix thought. He lowered his gaze to spare himself some of the humiliation that was to follow. "Listen to me well. For some time, I admit, I have been… dissuading Jenna from becoming emotionally involved with anyone. Reason being, she's my little sister, and I don't want to see her hurt. I…" He paused, uncertain whether or not he was willing to expose himself further. And still, "I know myself the pain that love can bring."

Piers twitched involuntarily. The direction this conversation was going was rather unexpected; he had personally never heard Felix make a note to any personal pain. He somberly left his position by the helm and neared the Venus Adept. With sincerity in his voice, he said, "I'm not pretending to understand what pain you have experienced, but I have my own share of heartaches. Should you care to talk —."

"This isn't about me," Felix shot impulsively. He stood, grabbed his food, and moved towards the door, angrily drinking the last few drops of his tea as he marched. He halted after a few paces. Exhaling deeply, he forced himself to release his anger. "Piers." Felix turned on his heel to face the Lemurian. "It's about time she had someone in her life. I can't give her what she needs, and soon, I won't even be around for her."

Gently, Piers replied, "What do you mean?" His face grew stern and serious, his yellow eyes piercing down on the man before him.

"Let me speak with Jenna first," Felix said, ignoring Piers' question. Let me deal with myself. You wouldn't understand, and there's too much to explain. "From what I remember, Jenna may have certain other ties. I'll leave her to tell you in her own time." Isaac… Whatever happened between them?

As Felix turned his face away, Piers called out sternly, "Felix." The commander sighed audibly. "It isn't good to keep it inside," he said, referring to whatever pain Felix had spoken about earlier. "Might you speak about it later?" Concern hung on his breath like a thick layer of medicine, oozing its way slowly into the invisible scars Felix bore.

"It's none of your business," Felix started. Then, recalling his sister's pleading, "Perhaps. But in my own time." He was quickly swallowed up by the door, which clamored when it closed behind him.

"Thank you," Piers whispered into the wind.

Yallam

The spotting of land came as such a gift for the Adepts, who by this time had grown tired of seeing nothing but water. It was only a few minutes later that they reached the shores of Yallam and discussed their plans. As Piers set anchor, Felix and the others squinted through the low haze that had accumulated that morning. In the distance, they could see the tips of another ship's topmasts. It seemed that the ship, which was slightly smaller than the Lemurian one, was only sitting in the water near the shoreline.

"Do you think that's the pirates' ship we're looking for?" Sheba asked.

Felix shook his head slowly. "It's hard to say. If it is, it wouldn't look like a pirate's ship."

"That's right. They pretend to be merchants," Jenna scoffed.

"Should we approach them to get a better view?" posed Piers.

The leader furrowed his brow in thought. We need to get a better view. Still, getting closer could scare them off. "No. We'll go into town instead."

"Why?" Jenna asked accusingly. "If we wait, we could lose our chance." She turned her gaze back to the ship. Hidden in the fog as it was, it sent something of an eerie vibe, something easily acceptable for the pirates' ship for which they were looking.

"We know the pirates act as merchants during the day, haggling with townsfolk and selling goods. During the night, however, they ransack the place," Felix replied. He left his position, entered the common room, and commenced packing essentials for the road. His allies followed him, Sheba and Piers doing the same. Jenna was still uncertain.

"So, what? You just want to wait until something bad happens?" Jenna spat.

"Jenna," Piers said calmly, "I believe the fact Felix is skirting around is that, if the passengers on that boat are indeed the pirates who ransacked Apojii, and if they have ransacked Yallam this past night, they would have left hours ago. Yet, we find them still here, dallying on the water."

"Oh." The Mars Adept pursed her lips to the side. Piers' bluntness thoroughly flushed her of her pushy attitude. In its place came one of humbleness. Yet, at the sheer realization that she had understood, she remarked excitedly, "Would you believe I understood that?"

"No."

"Yes," said Piers, giving Sheba, who had reported the former answer, a questioning eye. Is she being… sarcastic? I cannot tell; yet, she and Jenna are friendly, so she must. He smiled to himself.

However, of course, Sheba had not meant for her remark to be taken as sarcasm, something that Jenna caught onto far faster than Piers. The flame-user and the wind-tamer exchanged electrifying glances.

"You're playing me, and I know it," Jenna snickered.

Sheba smirked. "How can you be so sure?"

"So!" — Felix broke the girls' concentration — "It is just as Piers had described. We will go into town and ask the villagers if any merchants have arrived. If they have, then we have no chance in sizing up our enemies until they attack at nightfall. If they have not, we shall seize the opportunity."

"Jenna, do you know how many pirates we should expect?" Piers questioned. The girl answered him quickly.

"No, but Naadiya didn't give me the impression that there were a lot of them." She shrugged her shoulders questioningly and sighed. "Maybe five or six?"

"Hold on. 'Naadiya'?" Sheba darted. Her hands on her hips, she added, "I thought you didn't know the lady's name?"

She was caught. Jenna cleared her throat, expecting the Jupiter Adept to find her explanation unsatisfactory. "I didn't, but I found out last night in my sleep."

The short blonde laughed gently. Playfully, she replied, "Are you sure you didn't just dream it up?"

"Well, I guess I did 'cause I was dreaming," Jenna played along. "But, honestly, that's how I know. I dreamt about her."

"Do you dream about her often?" Piers inquired, wondering if this Naadiya was the reason for Jenna's distress a few nights ago.

Jenna shrugged in reply. "Often en—."

"Hey, you can save this conversation for the road!" Felix barked, himself thoroughly packed. His blade and complementary short knives were strapped tightly to his waist; a medium-sized leather bag was saddled over his left shoulder. He gestured over to a few other sacks, which the others were meant to partition between themselves. Within minutes, the girls were arguing lightheartedly over who should shoulder the largest of the sacks.

Years before, there would not have been a partition for Felix's sake. When in Saturos and Menardi's company, he would have saddled everything, from small, light bundles to the spoils of any enemies encountered along the way. Felix was their animal, their beast of burden, meant to carry anything his leaders would rather not. Additionally, whenever there was an argument, he was meant to settle the dispute by choosing a side, only to have the living daylights pummeled out of him by the losing party. In that sense, he carried the burden of poor moral. As bungled up as Felix was by day's end, it was always he who had to pitch camp and stand guard first. Now, Felix was more than happy to put that old life away.

"So, are we going?" Jenna broke Felix's reminiscence.

"Yeah. Let's go."

The town, sandwiched between two mountains, was surprisingly less rugged than the party had suspected. The small valley was lively; the grass, decorated in some places by wild flowers, was strong and healthy. Within, several stone huts, themselves cold and unwelcoming, sat upon the hilly landscape. The voyagers entered the inn, checked in, and settled themselves before exploring the rest of Yallam.

"Ma'am," Felix said kindly to the innkeeper, "have any merchants come past recently?"

The woman shook her head. "None, sir, but if you are looking for any special goods, might I suggest our blacksmith? Sunshine is as good as they come!" She smiled sweetly.

"You have a blacksmith?" Jenna asked, popping out from behind her brother's shoulder. "Where can we find him?"

The innkeeper walked briskly to the window and pointed to a cottage sitting at the highest part of the town. Small puffs of smoke were coming out from the chimney. "That's where you can find him." She turned to face the company of five, frowning slightly. "Sunshine only likes to work with materials of the highest quality, though. If you don't have anything particularly rare, asking him to make you something won't be worth your salt, if I may speak frankly."

"Is there any reason why he's so selective?" asked Kraden. Something about that little house did not fit the picture. In this small town, there would not be a need for extravagant weaponry. Additionally, as isolated as Yallam was, it would not be particularly convenient for warriors to reach. It would make more sense for the man to be serving the needs of the town, in that case.

The woman sighed. "That's something we've all been asking. With the town as poor as it is, Sunshine would be doing us a favor if he worked more often."

Jenna opened her mouth to speak, but Sheba got her bit first. Scoffing, Sheba said, "Maybe someone should push him more."

"That's a matter for his wife to take care of," the innkeeper replied. "And as far as we know, she's tried, but to no avail. Rumor has it that their marriage is on the rocks as it is." In a hushed voice, she added, "I heard Sunshine had threatened to skip town. Now, as little as he works, if that were to happen, I believe Yallam would go completely under."

Jenna held out her hand as if to ask permission to speak. "I thought Yallam was home to pearl divers. How could the town be doing so poorly if that were the case?"

"That's just the thing; it's not the case anymore. Ever since Yepp, the man who began to pearl-diving frenzy, died, Yallam gave up on the business."

Piers asked, "What, then, is the town's main source of income?"

"With Sunshine as unreliable as he is, it's mountain fish. The villagers leave before daybreak and travel to Taopo Swamp to fish. But recently, mountain fish have grown scarce." She stepped back around the counter, leaning on it as she continued. "There's been a drought in the region. We've never gotten droughts before, but this one doesn't seem like it'll be an irregular thing. The town elder claims the climate is changing due to some kind of disturbance. What on Weyard is going on?"

The Adepts looked from one to the other, all equally unwilling to answer her. Luckily, the woman's husband entered the inn with a pile of chopped wood for the open stove in his arms. The two drummed up a conversation, giving the Adepts the opportunity to slide out the door.

The innkeeper was good to her word; Sunshine wanted nothing to do with the group of Adepts. So, after having taken a good look at the rest of the town and speaking with the villagers, the party found itself crammed in the weapon and armor shop. From hand to hand, the Adepts passed around axes, maces, and swords of various lengths and widths. Unfortunately, they were not so pleased with the selection of weaponry; however, they did manage to find some better armor. More importantly, though, they managed to buy winter coats from the local furrier.

"Gosh, it's so heavy!" Sheba complained as she tried on one coat. "What did you say we need these for, Felix?"

"Our next destination is Tundaria Tower, located on Weyard's south-most continent. The very land it was built upon is frozen due to the frigid temperatures," he replied matter-of-factly. "If you don't want to freeze to death, you'll need a good fur coat."

"With frigid temperatures, I suppose I should not be wrong to expect snow," Piers chimed. "I have never seen snow before, but I have read about it from past voyages of other Lemurians. I admit, I shall be excited to see it when I do."

"'Snow'?" Sheba questioned curiously. Coming for Lalivero, a town close to the arid Suhalla Desert, snow was not a common natural occurrence. In fact, Sheba had never seen the beauty of the chilly ice crystals before.

Jenna, who had been busy admiring herself, perked up. "It's nothing really special. Basically, it's small flakes of frozen water that fall out of the sky like rain, though only when it's cold enough outside. We see snow seasonally up in Vale."

The Jupiter Adept smiled at the idea. "I guess Piers and I will share our first experience of snow together, then."

The Lemurian chuckled to himself as he freed his hair from the entrapment that was his newly purchased fur coat. "Indeed," he said to Sheba, but his attention was not on her. His gaze fell on the auburn haired girl who was spinning around playfully, trying to get a better feel for the jacket. His yellow eyes hung onto that image as his mind slowly drifted into a memory.

Piers had finally caught the girl alone. She, a tall and slender beauty with long, silky blue hair, had left her house to be by her lonesome in the meadow. There she stood in her springtide dress, gazing out into the mist of the ocean; her bare feet gripped the soft earth beneath her.

"Nerine," Piers had whispered into her ear, sending a wave of shock through the maiden. The girl had spun around quickly to see whom it was that stood behind her. In her frantic twist, Nerine had tripped herself, sending herself off balance. She jutted out her arms, flailing them in hopes of stabilizing herself. Her efforts, however, were in vain, and she began to fall backwards.

All this happening in the matter of seconds, a pinch of concern exploded in Piers' core. He threw out his arms, catching her gracefully in her fall. The maiden laughed gently, her hand on her chest as she caught her breath and resumed her calm.

"You have frightened me, Piers! I heard you not as you came up behind me," she laughed. Her eyes sparkled joyously as she threw her arms around the man's neck.

Piers smiled gleefully, showing his dazzlingly white teeth. "I had not meant for you to hear, but if I had known that I would have caused such alarm, I would have given myself away easily. Even so," he began with a smirk, "if I had known how easily my surprise would have earned me the thrill of having you in my arms, I would have done so sooner." Piers chuckled freely.

Nerine giggled. "And so should you have! I would have been glad." With one hand, she stroked Piers' cheek. "Worry not on the matter of my scare; this close proximity more than makes up for it." Then, with a girlish grin, Nerine moved in for a kiss. Piers' spirit lurched unexpectedly as their lips met.

Now, looking at Jenna, Piers remembered the first girl for whom he ever really had feelings. He smirked to himself. There is something greater about this girl. Jenna has qualities of depth that even Nerine could not possess in the boundlessness of her heart. This girl has such color to her spirit, such color. He grinned widely without notice.

Felix handed the furrier a small sack of coins, thanked the man, and returned to the group. Looking up to the sky, which was now bright with sunlight, he said, "It should be about time for these pirates to arrive. Everyone in the town is awake by now. We should find somewhere to wait."

The Mars Adept shook her head and nodded to the entrance of town. A small party of four was just making its way into the centre of town. "I don't think we'll have to wait for long," she muttered.


Ah, and so the capturers arrive. Unfortunately, you shall all have to wait until the next chapter to find out what happens.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to review.

As always, thanks to all for reviewing, favorite-ing, and following. Also, thank you to new readers! Thank you!

- Tem