Chapter Nine: Ransom

In the morning, he found a black pig rooting through Marissa's knapsack.

"Hey!" Ray tried to shoo the pig away with loud noises, but it ignored him.

"Come over here, piggy piggy piggy." He managed to lure it out with leftover dinner. He gladly shut the offending pig out. Since they had no mesos to spare for an inn, they had camped out for the night in a cheap tent.

There was always his mom's house. But Ray had been reluctant to bring Marissa with him, so outside they stayed.

"Marissa, is anything missing from your pack?" Ray asked. It had been his first full night's rest for several days, yet he hadn't felt so physically worn out until today. "Marissa? You awake?" She stayed asleep like a lump.

'I guess she's tired too,' he thought and left the tent. The black pig was nowhere in sight. 'Maybe I can visit Mom while Marissa is asleep,' he thought cheerfully. But that would have been too short of a visit. He thought he heard something rustling in the tent. When he turned, he saw the curly tail of the black pig slip into the tent. He reached into the tent for it, and fumbled with the flaps. Ray's legs then got tangled, with what he later discovered was his own pack, and he landed heavily on slumbering Marissa. She didn't even flinch. Not only that, the form he landed on felt way too soft to be a human. Ray uncovered the lump and saw that they were pillows. Did Marissa sneak out at night? The answer came to him at the next second in the form of an arrow.

It took several moments for Ray to sort himself out when that arrow not only took down the entire tent, but exploded as well. Downy feathers rained down on the shocked magician as he lay there amidst the remains of the tent. The explosion hadn't been large. It came with a letter. It read: Bring Bacon to the top of the Perion Mountain in the West by tonight. I have Marissa.

"Right," Ray said to himself, snapping his armor on. It helped to have a blacksmith in the family. He had snuck home, snuck out a large supply of bacon, a backpack cooler, some light metal gear, and left a note for Mom. He placed some health drinks in the portable cooler. He had never tried potions chilled before, but he figured it would help numb the bad taste. If not, he figured a cool potion would be nice for this mountain climb. Ray was so determined to rescue Marissa. For some reason he couldn't figure out, he knew he had to. It was as if he had a debt to repay. Without any second thoughts, he lurched forward on his metal boots.

He was nearly out of Perion when he ran into some warriors. One of them offered to help Ray carry his cooler up the stairs. The rest peered at Ray strangely.

"Does it really look like I'm having that much trouble?" Ray asked, a twinge of doubt shadowing his heart. He hadn't been aware that he was struggling. The warrior helped Ray up. Ray also hadn't been aware that he was half bent over from the weight of his armor.

"It looks more like your metal is weighing you down. I have lighter armor you can wear. I'll trade you my armor for your metal one," the warrior offered thoughtfully. Ray inwardly apologized to his mother as he traded the metal armor in. The warrior handed him a set of light leather gear. Ray knew he was being taken advantage of. It wasn't an equal trade at all, but Ray held himself back and accepted it with a stony heart. He would only be wasting time if he stood here and argued.

"Where are you going anyway? A picnic?" the warrior asked, looking at the cooler.

"The mountains in the west," he answered. Ray jerked the cooler on his back again.

"Eh. Here, take the goggles. They match the set." The warrior tossed a small bundle to him. "Perion mountains have constant gusts blowing in your face. Good luck with whatever you're doing."

Ray couldn't waste any more time. He snapped the headgear on, but it felt so unfamiliar that he took it off to take a good look at it. With its bandana frame and tiny fitting goggles, this headgear was unmistakably a Nightfox, usually worn by skilled thieves. He stared at the leather top he was wearing. The shoes, top, bottom, gloves, and hat were a matching set. The warrior had given him much more than Ray had bargained for.

'I don't deserve this thief set,' he thought, panicking. His rescue mission was riding on the help of his mother and a random warrior. He felt some relief. Marissa needed his help. Ray sprinted out to the mountains.

At first, it was as easy as climbing Perion again. His studded armor actually felt lighter than the armor itself. Then he grew weary. His determination to save Marissa stayed strong, but his muscles ached. With his physical being breaking down, his mental strength started to fade as well.

He rested his eyes for a second. The blazing blue eye flashed in his mind. He snapped his eyes open and started climbing again immediately. Only a few minutes later, he had to stop and take a break. He had to play this smart. At this rate, he would be too worn out to make it to the top. How long would the kidnapper wait?

Ray wiped his forehead. Whoever this kidnapper was, this person must have been pretty fit to make it to the top so quickly, especially with a girl in tow. He had met someone that strong just yesterday. Ray had a feeling that disrespectful girl with the blazing eye could have made this climb with no problem. Pride set aside, Ray knew he wasn't that strong. There was almost no way he could make it to the top by tonight, especially with the safe route he was taking.

Taking slow breaths to calm his anxious heart, he leapt across the gorge from platform to platform. On the last platform stood a burnt stump with an axe planted on its head. Looking like the undead tree from hell, it eyed Ray warily. Ray knew it would attack him if he dared step on its side of the cliff. Worse was the possibility that he would fall and die.

Ray attempted to gather his mana hopelessly. His magic rarely worked properly these days. It had a mind of its own. An unstable swirl of mana gathered in his hands. When it started to fizz faintly, Ray launched it at the Stump monster. It splashed against it solidly and shoved it back. The Stump roared and started to pace its platform in frenzy.

Ray's mouth dropped open. Since when had his Energy Bolt become so pathetic? It was still good news. Ray finally had some control over some basic magic. He tried again, throwing bolt after bolt. The one-eyed monster was unable to dodge the assault, and found itself pushed back to the edge of the platform. It braced its roots so it wouldn't fall, but it was too late because Ray had jumped across already. The monster scurried forward to attack Ray. Ray frowned and swung his mace into the stump hard enough to split the wood with a sickening crunch before it fell off the platform.

He hurried along the dangerous gorge, his heart pumping more oxygen than he was accustomed to. It took most of his concentration to keep himself from panting like a dog. Yet again, he thanked the kind stranger for the thief leather set. Climbing the cliff was difficult, but it led directly up to the top. He wasn't sure how high he had managed to climb, but he felt that he was close.

'How foolish to rely on gut instinct,' Ray thought. But the feeling helped. He didn't mind the pain and the burning sun as much. All he could see was that Marissa was at the top, and whoever had kidnapped her would be there. He could see the kidnapper's face already. He would be big and powerful. The sun would gleam off his impressive battle gear.

Ray heaved himself up the final ledge and came to face to face with the blue-haired girl. The one who was supposed to teach him. Something was wrong. Marissa was nowhere in sight. The blue haired girl's chilling eyes shone. Her back was to the sun, and her countenance was shadowed. Ray squinted his eyes, still crouched on the cliff side. She approached silently, her boots stalking forward.

'Her eyes are a strange color. Maybe blue, but that might be my imagination,' he thought faintly. The warrior motioned with her hand. She seemed to be offering to help Ray get up. Ray extended a hand shakily. She ignored his hand and continued extending it to him. At Ray's confused expression, she shook her head impatiently.

"Bacon. Give me Bacon," she ordered in a dangerous tone. Ray suddenly felt very wide open behind him. One push and he was done for.

"I brought it. Just let me get my pack." He busied himself getting the straps undone. The girl just judged him from her distance. "You'll let Marissa go, won't you?" Ray asked. The warrior tilted her head slightly away from him without answering. Ray considered holding the bacon back, but decided it too dangerous. He handed it to her quickly.

Upon accepting the cooler, her eyes lit up. It looked like she was smiling, but it was hard to tell. When she opened it, her face hardened. She glared sharply at the helpless Ray. Every hair on Ray started to stand on end. She stepped forward slowly, almost menacingly.

"This can not be Bacon. You can not tell me this is Bacon," she muttered icily.

Ray couldn't help but stammer, "I-It is Bacon! I made sure this was bacon when I-um bought it from the market!" Ray raised his hand slightly to defend himself when the blue haired girl shuddered. She turned her face half away from him, the sun illuminating her face so that he could see how her face broke into open relief.

"Oh God. When I saw that I thought you-" she stopped. She faced him with disbelief in her face. "I thought you killed him."

"…Killed?" asked Ray tentatively. She whirled with sudden anger. With a wild hurl, she overturned the cooler into the air.

"You idiot! What would I want with bacon? I wanted my tracker! My black pig!" she yelled. "My Bacon." Ray stared at her dumbfounded.

"You… want me to get black pig bacon?" he asked slowly. She peered down at him haughtily as if she had expected him to say that.

"Fool! Has the mountain climb addled your brain? Bacon is the name of my beloved tracker pig. He went missing after I sent him after Marissa," she said.

"…And why would I know where Bacon is?" Ray asked. He was starting to lose patience with her. All this for a black pig. All this for that little pig that had been rooting through Marissa's pack.

"Bacon never fails to return to me! You must have kidnapped him for revenge!" she declared.

"You're out of your mind! For all I know, you blew up your own damn pig with your blasted arrow!" he yelled. The blue haired girl's eyes snapped wide with shock.

"You lie," she hissed between her teeth, nearing him. Ray thought quickly.

"If you sent him after Marissa, he might still be tracking her. He might have gone to wherever you hid Marissa," spoke Ray quickly. He doubted it, but he was ready to say anything. The warrior girl drew back, and the emotion slid off her face. She put a finger to her lips, whispering, "Maybe."

She stood up suddenly.

"Let's go," she said, grabbing his arm. "You're coming with me. If I see a tooth missing from Bacon, you will see your tooth missing from your pretty face."

Ray grimaced. As if he wouldn't come. She was the one who knew where Marissa was.

"You can call me Teacher," she added, smiling back at Ray. He grinned back with an equal amount of emptiness.