SL: Surprise! Bet you didn't expect this :)
Aisha: Wait. Why are you back from hiatus so early? o-o
SL: Because... 1: I got grounded so I don't know when the next time I could go on the computer will be (discreetly types this) and 2: The last final exam was today, but when I was taking the exams, I got a good amount of writing done in a notebook since everyone else took too long to finish, so... that's how that went.
Elsword: I bet she's just happy that a few writers like her friend or RC started updating again...
SL: WHOA WHOA WHOA, MISTER. How'd you know? O_O
Elsword: *shrugs and walks away*
SL: NO. COME BACK HERE. WE HAVE SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. ELSWORDDDDDDDD
*Elsword has ditched the room*
SL: *Sigh* Oh well~ Anyway, for anyone who wants to know, this chapter will introduce-
Aisha: Me.
SL: No.
Aisha: Then who?
SL: Wait to find out~ Roll camera. or film. Or... you know what? Just forget it...
Chapter 11: On the Road Again
"So... About the stuff you said you would explain..." Elsword hesitated, not sure what to make of this new Rena, with her dagger that could slice him into pieces. Grinning, Rena wondered,
"Where should I begin..." The three were on the road again, trekking across the red clay soil that dominated the lands past Lord Wally's castle. On Rena's insistence, they left Elder Village almost as soon as she returned. No questions, no arguments, just the mutual knowledge that the longer they stayed in the same place, the farther away Wally would get with the El. So the group had left, after expressing their gratitude and saying their farewells to Luichel and Echo. "Hmm..." Rena sorted out her thoughts before asking, "Would you like to know about nasods, or why I left, first?" Aisha inquired,
"Where were you-"
"What are nasods?" Elsword interrupted. Scowling at him, the magician grumbled,
"I think it'd be more important to know what Rena was doing, without telling us too."
"I'd rather know what the thing that almost killed us was," the boy retorted dryly.
"You know," Rena chuckled awkwardly, "I can tell you both-"
"If you don't know what nasods are, or were, that's your fault," muttered Aisha. "Besides, Rena ran off for a whole week, doing who-knows-what, and came back... like this!" She gestured toward the elf, still unable to get over her changed appearance.
"But she told me she would explain what nasods were when we were at Wally's castle!" whined Elsword.
"She also wrote in her note that she would say what happened when she was gone," the mage pointed out. "And-"
"Oh my," Rena's voice cut through the two's argument. "Did you behave like this while I was gone, too?" She shook her head in disapproval. "And I thought both of you wouldn't if I reminded you in the note." They stiffened, walking next to the elf lady in silence. "Or perhaps I'm just making ridiculous assumptions~" she said with a frightening smile painted on her face.
"Y-yeah! That must be it!" Elsword laughed nervously. "'Cause me and Aisha would never fight with each other, right Aisha?" He jabbed her in the side with his elbow.
"Ow- I mean, yeah! We wouldn't do such a thing..." The girl eyed Rena with caution.
"Alright then~ Now that that's cleared up... I supposed I should tell you where I've been this past week," Rena laughed sheepishly. The boy and girl turned their heads toward her expectantly. "Well, you see... You remember how our battle with Wally's nasod went, I hope." They nodded. "And to be honest, I thought all three of us should learn magic to some aspect, because my arrows and Elsword's sword... They didn't do a thing against the nasod. If we met more enemies like that in the future-"
"That's what Elsword told me," Aisha blurted out suddenly. "So I had to teach him how to use fire..." She winced recalling the unpleasant experience.
"Oh, so you listened? That's good!" Rena clapped her hands together happily. "Then all of us are ready for the next time we meet Wally."
"W-what do you mean by all of us?" Aisha stared at her companion.
"Well, when I left you two," Rena said left you two like she would say set off two time bombs, "I was trying to learn how to use a better form of magic." Aisha pondered this.
"So, the dagger you have and the twigs in your quiver-"
"Yeah. They're my new weapons," Rena admitted. "The twigs, well, they're infused with magic."
"Question," Elsword spoke up. "Echo said a group of people saved us from Wally's nasod, and that you followed them out of Elder."
"Yeah..." The elf wasn't sure where this was going.
"Who are they, exactly?" Elsword questioned, curiosity lingering in his voice. Rena thought over how to answer, then replied,
"I can't tell you, specifically, who they are. But I can say that they're my own kind, and they're assassins..." Assassins? Aisha inspected her companion more closely. Does that mean... Rena's an assassin, too? Suddenly, the ground cracked at her feet. She yelped, jumping backwards and summoning her staff within a split second. "Aisha?" Rena gave the mage a concerned look. "What-" She was cut off. The ground under her gave way and she leapt back instinctively. Out came two scorpions, but...
"They're huge!" Elsword's eyes widened and he took tentative steps backwards.
"Way to state the obvious..." Aisha muttered under her breath, also keeping her distance from the things. "So, uh, what's the plan?"
"Rena?" Elsword looked at the spot she had been at. She wasn't there.
"Captanda sagitta," her voice intoned from behind him. He whirled around in time to catch Rena shooting at the scorpions with... a twig? She fired with impeccable aim, just as Elsword shouted,
"Are you cra-" Boom! The ground near his feet exploded, and he was thrown backwards, hitting the red clay with a soft thud.
"Ow! Get off me, idiot!" He looked down. Never mind. He had fallen on top of Aisha, instead. He rolled off of her, slightly red-faced, mumbling,
"Oops..."
"So not cool," she grumbled. A vehement hiss came from behind them. They turned to see both of the human-sized scorpions sprawled on their backs. The scorpions' legs waved helplessly in the air, until they turned over on their sides. Giving a final, furious hiss, the scorpions snapped their pincers and burrowed back into the red earth. A few minutes passed, void of any other sound. When it seemed that the two scorpions would not come back, Rena looked at her companions and smiled.
"Looks like they're taken care of~" She dusted off her clothes and placed the extra twig she had been holding back into her quiver.
"W-what," Elsword stammered.
"Wind," Aisha decided. "That's the element you use, right?"
"Bingo~" the elf giggled. "By the way, Aisha, I've been meaning to ask ever since I learned about the properties of magic. What element do you use, specifically?" The purple-haired girl considered this question for a moment before answering,
"I don't know. I used to be able to use all of them-" Rena gasped, astonished, "-but now, I can only use two for combat: fire and lightning. As for wind and ice... I'm still relearning how to handle them effectively. So wind is my weakest element, while fire is the easiest for me to use." Rena nodded.
"Why can't you use them all as well as you used to?"
"That's," Aisha paused, "a long story... And I'd rather not talk about it."
"But you told me," Elsword had to mention. Aisha gave him a sharp glare.
"Oh?" Rena examined them with new interest. "Have you two been bonding while I was gone?" They whipped their heads toward her with expressions of disbelief.
"No!" they shouted in unison, which only added to their mortification and Rena's mischievous smile.
"Well, it seems you both have been doing certain things behind my back." A hint of amusement tinged Rena's voice. "I wouldn't be surprised," she added, "if you two had planned to elope sometime soon~" Their expressions were priceless. Elsword's face flushed a light pink, which was basically how Aisha looked at that moment as well, only her eye was twitching.
"Never! Not in this lifetime!" she exclaimed.
"W-with that snob?" sputtered Elsword. "Why-"
"I was only joking!" Rena stifled a laugh with her hand. "Though, your reactions were interesting to watch.
"O-oh..." Aisha looked away. Ah. I probably shouldn't tease them like this, Rena thought, but it's so funny, how they react... Still, another idea popped into her head, when those two get older, they could look back to this and laugh, themselves... One day...
"Rena," Elsword's voice got her attention.
"Hmm?"
"Shouldn't we be setting up camp soon?" he suggested. When the elf moved her eyes toward the sun, she realized the boy was right. The setting sun tinted the sky blood-red and deep-violet. Pretty soon, the vast, red desert would be covered in dark shadows. The three meandered about in search of a suitable place to set up camp for the night.
Just as the sun was disappearing from sight, the group found a rocky outcropping at which they set up camp.
"I'll take first watch," Rena offered as they placed their sleeping bags and supplies on the ground.
"Watch?" Elsword inquired, clueless. Aisha also looked inquisitively at the elf.
"Don't you take watches during the night to look out for danger?" asked Rena. The two shook their heads.
"This is practically the first time I've been out of Ruben," Elsword said in his defense.
"And I usually sleep in town inns when I travel," Aisha supplied. Rena's face fell into her hands and she said,
"You have a lot to learn about traveling out of the reach of civilization..." She sighed. "Anyhow, I'll take first watch. Then I'll wake up Aisha and she'll wake you up, Elsword. Is that clear?" They nodded. "Good. And if you see anything strange during your shift, you wake everyone up. Now, both of you, get some sleep." They didn't protest. Aisha and Elsword, both fatigued and worn out from the long day, slipped into their own sleeping bags and shut their eyes, while their comrade sat high on the outcropping, scanning the area for any possible threat.
Night. Quiet, still night. A curtain of blackness engulfed all of Velder, the capital city of Rurensia. The darkness was fitting, for the city had lost a quarter of its people within a mere hour.
Several hours ago a watchman, part of Velder's garrison, stood at his post on duty. He stifled a yawn and stared unenthusiastically at the landscape around him. No threat showed on the land, or in the sky. None ever did. Still, he had to keep on the lookout for any person, creature, or thing that could possibly endanger the safety of Velder's citizens. Only twenty minutes later, it came. A small speck in the sky at first, it grew larger, flying toward the city. There was no doubt; it was an aircraft headed straight for Velder. The otiose watchman, however, had dozed off already, slumped on the ground and lulling back and forth. It wasn't until the aircraft was directly above Velder that the man woke up. The rumbling of the engine jerked him out of his sleep and his eyes widened to the size of cantaloupes when he saw the thing.
"Shit!" he cursed. "The Black Crow is here!" the watchman hollered, before remembering he was the only person on duty today. The airship of the infamous group, Black Crow, sank lower and lower toward the ground, and several rope ladders fell over the side of the ship. The man turned to run, to alert someone, anyone. But facing him was... the captain of the Black Crow.
"Going somewhere?" the jet-black-haired captain inquired with a cold voice. The watchman froze in fear. There was nothing he could do now, even if he had been armed. "Tch..." The Black Crow's captain took his time to look out over the city. "Pathetic. No defenses, not even a decent watchman." He stepped forward, slowly. "Nevertheless, it'll still be pleasing to destroy this place." The last thing the watchman saw before he died was a wicked-looking metal arm.
"Man, that was boring," said Clovis, the Black Crow's second-in-command. "I thought Velder would have stronger defenses." The captain stayed silent, staring over the ship's railing at the city in the distance. The city he had wrecked. But it deserved to be, part of his mind argued. It stole the lives of his friends, his fiancé, everyone he had cared about. And today, he got to pay back Velder, for all the sufferings it had caused him...
"Captain," one of his soldiers interrupted his thoughts. He turned around, annoyed.
"What do you want?" Clovis barked.
"Umm..." the soldier turned to the second-in-command and hesitated. "Where are we headed, exactly?"
"The Richie mines, like the captain told you several times already." The permanent scowl the captain wore deepened as he watched Clovis yell at the soldier. "Why can't you understand an order the first time he gives it?"
"Uh, erm, yes, sir! Sorry, sir! It won't happen again!" The soldier shook, bringing his hand up to his forehead in a meek salute and began to hurry off.
"Clovis," the captain finally spoke.
"Yeah?" Clovis looked at him.
"Just make sure the ship goes to Bethma, but the crew has to be ready to depart to Altera, afterward. The meeting with 'Lord' Wally will not take long."
"Got it," said the second-in-command. Then he called, "You!" to the soldier that was leaving.
"Yes, sir?" The soldier turned around to meet Clovis's eyes and see the captain's face, dark with a murderous intent as usual.
"Set the course to the Richie mines, like I told you before, but tell everyone that we're going to Altera later. No stopping. No extra business. Nothing."
"But, sir, my family is in Bethma and I want to-"
One death glare from the captain cut him off.
"Are you really arguing against the captain's orders?" Clovis questioned. The soldier paled, and said hastily,
"No, sir! I'm sorry, sir! I - I'll tell everyone what you said." He then retreated below-deck to give the orders.
"He fears you, Raven," Clovis noted. "They all do, don't they?" He chuckled. "Well, no matter. It makes it all the easier to control them."
"Don't call me Raven," the captain hissed. Clovis shrugged.
"Whatever you want, captain."
The Black Crow sped up, going at a pace of about twenty knots an hour, with Bethma set as its destination. Behind it, Velder, the capital city, was left in devastation.
"Wait a minute," Rena stopped in her tracks. It was midday, and the sun was high in the sky, beating down generously on her hot, tired back. As soon as the sun had risen, Rena woke up and roused Aisha and Elsword from their sleep. Elsword was supposed to be on lookout duty, but he sort of... fell back to sleep at his post, high on the outcropping. Rena was glad she had found him before Aisha did.
"Why are we stopping?" Aisha groaned, rubbing her eyes. She still hadn't gotten used to the idea of losing a few hours of rest to be on look out during the night. Though, she had a nagging suspicion that Elsword hadn't done his part.
"We fought... scorpions yesterday, correct?" Rena asked.
"Yeah," clarified Elsword. "Then you shot them with that twig of yours and they ran away."
"But, they couldn't have been there, or been alive, unless..." The elf's eyes widened as she had an epiphany. "That's it!"
"What is?" Aisha questioned. Elsword was also as clueless as she was. Rena smiled and lifted her pointer finger upwards.
"What does every living thing need to survive?"
"Is this a trick question?" Aisha narrowed her eyes.
"No," Rena waited for an answer. Finally, Elsword guessed,
"The El, right?"
"Exactly!" Rena clapped her hands together. "So if those scorpions were able to survive at the spot we were at yesterday, then-"
"We're near a source of El!" Aisha realized.
"Bingo." The elf paused to think. "From what I remember, this area is called Bethma, and there should be one village around here. So if there's a village around here, there has to be El, and vice-versa."
"Wait." Elsword held his hand in front of him to stop Rena. "So basically, you're saying that we're close to a village?" Rena nodded.
"And that village is over there," Aisha pointed to the west. The elf lady and the boy turned to see buildings in the distance that they, apparently, hadn't noticed before.
"Oh, hey... A village..." Elsword murmured lamely.
"Bethma Village," Rena breathed.
Raven: So you finally decided to stick me in your story.
Aisha: WHY WERE YOU KILLING PEOPLE RAVEN? AND WHY ARE YOU SUCH A JERK?
Elsword: AND WHY ARE YOU SUCH A JERKFACE?
SL: Oh hey, Elsword's back :D *gets ignored*
Raven: *shrugs* Oh wait. *picks up SL's notebook from the ground* What's this?
SL: DON'T TOUCH THAT O_O *runs toward Raven*
Raven: *runs away while reading notebook* Hmm... Guys, I think she's writing another story.
SL: AM NOT.
Aisha and Elsword: *suddenly interested*
Raven: Let's see here... Oh wow... This intro is just sad. I'm sorry Aisha *shakes head sympathetically*
Aisha: WAIT. WHAT? WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT? WHAT HAPPENED IN THERE? OAO
Raven: Well first of all, this story is about-
*SL has kicked Raven from the room*
SL: There. No spoilers.
Aisha: WHAT?
Elsword: You never told us you were writing a new story o-o
SL: PRETEND LIKE I'M NOT, OKAY?
Elsword: But-
SL: MOVING TO THE REVIEWS.
Wait. Special shout out to Penny for editing every chapter of this story XD (Without him editing this... God, life would be so much harder)
to Rosamanelle: Psh. Chung is awesome. You have every reason to think it's Chung. YESH. LET'S LIGHT EVERYTHING ON FIRE. (In almost every game I play, I usually go for the element fire, without realizing XD) Man, I wish you guys could have lit my finals on fire. Yes, Elsa is so awesome that she can use magic. Rena is a total bawss as a TR, whoop whoop! Raven, huh? Well, HERE'S YOUR RAVEN. I introduced Raven in this chapter because of you :D But he's so... scary. Anyway, Eve will come in Altera. Chung... after Nasod King definitely. Ara? I'm not sure if she'll be in here. Who knows? Depends how motivated I am to keep updating until Sander and what-not. When will I come back from hiatus? (continues typing discreetly) I must ask my parents when I'm ungrounded... AND DON'T DIE. CALL LIFE ALERT. 911. POLICE. FIREMEN. SOMEBODYYYYYY *drags Rosa put of the emo corner again*
to NekoYinChan: Lulz... I think fanfiction went all weird and duplicated your review. Anyway, here's your chapter :) Exams are done (last one was today) finally. God... Math was awful. Ah, my school is over in a week, too. Well.. next week I guess. Thank you! I think your good luck actually gave me good luck: it must have made me get almost perfect scores on science and Latin... Oo.. And go magic knight! I wonder what will happen next, too... I don't have a very tight outline for this story, so I'm seeing what happens as it moves along. O_o AND OMG. YOU'RE LIKE 4 LEVELS HIGHER THAN ME XD (needs to actually start catching up) Magic users are awesome. Elsword became awesome when he could use magic, in my opinion at least. :D
to Orithia Windbell: I'm pretty sure I heard of you when I was reading Snow's story in its early stages... Hm... Was she the one who gave you the name Hospes? Ahem, yeah... Burning. Hmm... Where in the world did that idea come from... AND YES. I HATE THE HEADMASTER TOO. ALL HEADMASTERS ARE WEIRD. EXCEPT DUMBLEDORE. I MEAN, HE'S WEIRD TOO BUT HE'S GOOD. So, since I hate headmasters (like Aisha's headmaster) I must make them evil! (Look at that logic) Woot. Rena is going to be all... awesome now. Don't know what else to say... Hmm... I needed to tell you something. OH RIGHT. STOP TICKLING FURRY UNICORNS. I SAW YOU DOING IT. DON'T DO IT. THEY DON'T LIKE IT. Yeah... X3
SL: To be honest, I am working on a new story-
Elsword: Called it.
SL: -but... I don't know if I'll publish it. Maybe I will when school ends, but I'm not exactly sure if it'll be good, since I only wrote a canon story for Elsword so far... Oh wells. Anyway, thank you to everyone who's reading this story! I really appreciate it ^_^
*flees from the room*