Hey, I know this is a day early, but I have a part-time job with my school, and I'm going to be busy tomorrow, and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging, so here you are. Enjoy!
Hello, everybody; ModernDayBard here! You probably can guess which twin goes with which remaining crystals, but any guesses as to the element I added (the mysterious voices)? Unfortunately, you get no further clues this chapter, as it's time for another mandatory side-quest.
Because (for some reason) it must be said: If you recognize anything from the game, it isn't mine.
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." (Norman Vincent Peale)
It was well after dark by the time an exhausted party navigated their canoe downstream, across Crescent Lake, and into the town, so it wasn't until the next morning that the four teens even tried to confront Lukahn. As it turned out, he was waiting for them in the tavern attached to the inn the next morning, with a huge breakfast feast spread out on the table in front of him. Beaming, the old eccentric indicated they join him.
The boys—even Matt—needed no further invitation and launched themselves at the free food, while Leslie (who never had much of a morning appetite) took only an apple and a mug of coffee (which she'd been undyingly grateful to discover existed in this strange world—otherwise her magic would've been depleted keeping her and her brother free of caffeine headaches).
At first, there were no sounds but that of four teenagers and an old man eating, but halfway through his second plate, Josh finally spoke up. "So, I suppose you're going to tell us that, now that we've defeated Marilith and relit the Fire Crystal, the next fiend has awoken early or started attacking faster or something?"
"Unfortunately, yes, creating your first difficulty in reaching him," was Lukahn's reply.
Leslie held her peace as her brother's skeptical tone echoed her own thoughts. "First difficulty? As in there will be more?"
"Truth be told, one could say Kraken's aggravated attacks are your second difficulty, and your first is his location, but that's quibbling over details," Lukahn admitted. "The plain fact is, he's located off the coast of the North East continent—and there aren't any ports on either northern continent. Unless you can teleport or fly, there's no way to get to him or Tiamat. Technically, given that he's underwater and she's in the sky, one wonders if it's possible anyway, but that's a moot issue if you can't even get to the right part of the world..."
Suddenly, none of them felt lie they had much of an appetite. Leslie sensed an all-too familiar air of frustration budding around the boys, and quickly put in, "You said there have been others before us. Have they managed to get to the northern continents? Does anyone know how?"
Lukahn beamed at the white mage, as if she'd just answered a test question correctly. "As a matter of fact, I did manage to unearth a record—did some digging while you were takin on Mt. Gulg and Marilith, see—and found rumors of an airship that was used by the last bunch of heroes, oh, about 2,000 years ago, now. Legend says, after they failed, their helpers hid the airship in the desert, and the power core, the secret to its flight, in the Cavern of Ice. That way, only the next group of worthy warriors could find it and use the ship, hopefully to finish the job, this time."
"Cavern of Ice, eh?" Zach asked, idly running a small tongue of flame across his fingers. "Sounds manageable. How far?"
"I'll show you on a map!" Lukahn cried, and Leslie sensed their odd guide was relieved, as if he'd just gotten away with something. Before she could puzzle out why, a thought struck her.
Kraken—the next fiend. The Kraken is a sea monster. I've got a blue crystal, and suddenly love sailing where before, it terrified me...
I'm next!
Fortunately, the Cavern of Ice wasn't too far away—although, the trip was made longer by the fact that Josh and Leslie felt that the four of them should check in with Gunther and the crew to let them know the plan. Matt had noticed how close the two of them seemed—especially since that night in Melmond, before the fight with Lich, and the black mage wasn't sure what to think.
All of his old protective instincts were screaming t him to get the big oaf away from his baby sister before she got hurt, but his rational mind and imagination together cobbled up some pretty gruesome possibilities for how Leslie might react if he interfered in her love life. And another part of him had to admit that Josh and Zach's sword work was quickly becoming the thing keeping the whole team alive and (mostly) healthy, meaning they might be better at protecting his twin than he was.
After all, it'd been mere luck that he'd killed Marilith: the ice wasn't really doing anything. Most of the monsters they were encountering now had at least trace amounts of magic resistance, and some more than that. And the coming cavern?
Fire beats ice, and when it comes to magic, Zach's the fire guy, not me. I've got to face the facts—my magic's becoming obsolete, and it's all I contribute to this team.
That was why, every night—whether they were in an inn or camping out in the wilds—once the others were asleep, he forced himself to stay awake and drill fighting forms with his dagger for hours. He couldn't see if he was improving any, and he knew that he should ask one of the two athletes for help.
Okay, so Zach would tease him to no end, but at least Leslie was right in pointing out Josh was pretty nice for a jock. But the thought of ridicule or worse—patronization—however well-intended, was enough to make him continue his stubborn refusal to ask for help.
At first, the Cavern of Ice wasn't that bad. Okay, so there were a few embarrassing slips and falls, but honestly, those were funny more than they were dangerous. But the place twisted and turned on itself, forcing them to constantly backtrack and spend even more time in the frozen depths.
Josh noticed Leslie shivering halfway through the second level, and only the mental image of Matt shooting him with a lightning bolt kept him from putting his arm around the younger girl. Who knew the school nerd could be so intimidating?
It was also on that floor that they discovered what Zach termed the 'ice minefields'—stretches of the floor impossible to cross without injury. The white and red mage split healing duties at first, until Leslie pointed out most of the enemies they encountered were weak to fire.
"That means we need you on magical offense, Zach," she said quietly. "Besides, I have the most stamina, magically. I'll be fine with the healings."
She still seemed quiet and timid, but the warrior noticed that Leslie was getting more comfortable speaking up, even disagreeing with the group. He was glad she was feeling more comfortable around them, and—
Josh paid for his distraction as he stepped on a previously tiny crack on the floor, and a good chunk of ice gave way, dropping the four of them about ten feet. Given the distance (and amount of sharp weapons in the pile of people) it was amazing they weren't injured, though all were shaken up by the unexpected descent.
After that, they were on high alert for more of the tell-tale cracks. It was Zach who figured out how to use the unstable surface to their advantage. They'd found the Levistone that Lukahn had sent them there to fetch, but had been unable to cross the floor to it. Then the red mage remembered seeing a crack right above the stone, and sure enough, one more back-track and fall later, the Levistone was in their grasp.
Unfortunately, they were in the grasp of an undead-type monster with a giant eye, who'd managed to freeze Zach and Matt in its first, unexpected attack. Josh and Leslie fought desperately, but the white mage soon succumbed to the hypnotizing glare, and the warrior felt himself fill with rage.
Whirling quickly to the paralyzed form of his friend, Josh traded his own axe for the sword Zach had found partway through this frozen hellscape—a sword whose blade was entirely made out of fire. After a few blows with the fiery saber, the creature shrieked and collapsed in on itself, dissolving into nothing. Once the source of the stare was gone, the others bean to revive.
Josh was keeping a close eye on Leslie, who was still shivering and seemed to have been affected the worst by the Dead Eye's stare, but he did, at least, remember to return Zach's weapon.
The red mage took the sword back with a smirk. "No way to pass off the credit for this one—eh, Fearless Leader?"
Instead of returning to Crescent Lake immediately, the exhausted group of four trekked back to their ship. Gunther's eyes lit up at the sight of the treasure they carried. "If'n my eyes aren't deceiving me, then that'd be the Levistone itself. Oh the stories this old water-walloper has heard! The Lufenian's up north figured out how to make stone's fly, then how to use those stones to launch a ship inta the air. Imagine that—sailing the sky itself! Nothin' to stop you, no pirates who could catch you, crossin' the world in less time than it takes to sail the Aldi Sea!"
The old sailor was in favor of setting off at once, but the travel-weary group of heroes did get him to agree to at least one night rest after putting forward the argument that it wasn't very clear when they'd get another chance to rest in safety. Thus, it was a little before sunrise before Pravoka's Pride was under sail, bound for the southern desert.
Lukahn hadn't been exactly clear on how they were supposed to find the airship, but the end it was revealed he didn't need to be. As soon as they crossed into the sandy waste, Levistone, Gunther, and crew in tow, the dunes parted and shifted aside as a huge ship—twice the size of their current vessel—decked with propellers and engines in addition to the normal sails, floated slowly, painfully, into sight.
They all stared at the behemoth, now that it was fully revealed, and it was Gunther who summed up everyone's reaction after the dramatic revelation.
"That ship..."he muttered, in a daze, "...is a pile of junk!"
Unfortunately, Gunther's assesment was accurate. The legendary airship had obviously seen better days. Beyond the wear and tear of being hidden under sand for centuries upon centuries, there was obvious battle scars, and significant damage to the engine—perhaps from battle, perhaps from the original crew's haste to remove and hide the Levistone—that rendered the whole craft inoperable and left a general impression of now-ruined grandeur. Not exactly the craft one sails in to save the world...
Gunther paced around the hulk several times, glowering darkly and muttering under his breath the whole time, apparently not noticing the thin layer of sand that was slowly coating him. The four teens stood with the rest of the crew wilting a little in the heat as they awaited the oldest member of their party's decision.
"Well," the old captain said, coming to a halt at last, "the hull ain't as bad as it looks—almost, but not quite. She's still a sturdy craft, under all that ruin, so we don't have to scrap and start over. I'd say me and the boys could handle the ship repairs in a week—2 weeks if'n you wanted 'er to look nice and pretty. It's the air part as has got me all worried. I ain't no mechanical mind, and I ain't no magician either. Just taken a quick look around inside tells me you'd need to be both to get that engine goin' again. I'm sorry fellers, but I don't know what to say."
Josh nodded slowly as he digested Gunther's report, taking time to mull over his gut instinct and imagine likely outcomes. Determining it was worth the risk, he spoke at last. "Go ahead and get the boys working on the hull—and don't worry about appearances so long as she can get the job done. I've got an idea for the engine."
Duly satisfied, Gunther turned to get his crew in line, leaving the other three to stare at the warrior. "Uh, Josh?" Zach managed at last, "I've been tutoring you in science since middle school. What on earth are you going to do about that engine?"
"Me? Nothing. I'm in the same boat as Gunther—no pun intended. But you," he said, pointing at his best friend, "and you," (this was aimed at Matt), "have the brains and magic between you to figure it out if you work together without any arguing, insulting, grumbling, or cheap shots. This isn't some group project with a grade at stake here, it's bigger than that. We need you to get your act together and cooperate for once."
He faltered to a halt, seeing the other three staring at him with matching stunned expressions. "What?"
Zach recovered first, shaking his head. "Just odd to see you so comfortable with being the fearless leader." The red mage shrugged, smirking at his taller friend. "Hey, it suits you."
The black mage's eyes resumed their normal, half-lidded state, but the tone with which he spoke wasn't as sharp as normal. "And you've got a point. Well, let's take a look at the problem and see what we come up with, eh, Prehill?"
The two boys made their way to the airship, leaving Leslie behind with Josh. The white mage smiled shyly, but her voice held no fearful tremor. "I think you got through to them, for once."
"Really? I'm afraid I just mixed potassium and water here," Josh admitted. Leslie shook her head.
"Sounds like Zach's science help is rubbing off. No, but seriously—I noticed my brother didn't slip in a single quip about Zach blowing up the ship, and Zach didn't say something stupid like, 'ladies first'. Maybe it will last, maybe it won't, but it's a start, at least. And you're right about one thing for sure—if those two can get their act together, they'll be unstoppable when they collaborate."
To their mutual surprise, Zach and Matt found that they bounced ideas off of each other very well, and after only a few tense moments and setbacks, they figured out how to maximize on their particular skill sets—Zach's creativity and unorthodox approaches, and Matt's encyclopedic memory and predisposition to organization. That wasn't to say there weren't slip-ups and occasional back-handed compliments thrown in (just to let the other know that this was in no way going to be a regular thing), but for the sake of the mission, they kept working, proving Leslie's assessment accurate, as the engine reached working order around the same time that Gunther deemed the hull sea-worthy—or air-worthy.
Thus it was that, one week nearly to the day after finding the wreckage of the airship, the crew of Pravoka's Pride had their new vessel (which had been dubbed the Burning Bolt by Zach as a joke, only to have it stick) primed and ready to embark. Down in the engine room, Zach, at the navigation control, turned to Matt, who stood by the power supply console. "Care to do the honors, Meyers?"
"It'd be my genuine pleasure," was the black mage's reply, as he shot a carefully-controlled burst of lightning into the engine core, jump-starting it. The ancient behemoth shuddered to life, and (slowly at first, then with increasing speed), the Burning Bolt regained its rightful place in the sky, before turning and continuing the journey northwards at last.
So, yeah. I couldn't resist throwing a damaged airship in there, since I highly doubt anything could survive 2,000-plus years buried in the desert with no visible wear and tear. Also, I wanted an excuse for Matt and Zach to see how much they have in common and how well they can work together—even if they don't realize that yet. (And no, before anyone asks, I'm not shipping them, I'm just tired of them fighting all the time.)
Anyway, if you saw something you liked, or something you think I can fix/improve on for next time, don't hesitate to leave a review and let me know.
