Fourth Mission: El Nath
Sorry for the long wait - I was enjoying my spring break (bliss!). Thanks for everyone who encouraged me to continue this story. I really appreciate your reviews! I've decided that I'm going to make a trilogy out of this story. If you'll check my profile, I've even named the titles of the stories. This chapter is about Aran getting the Red Jade for Maha and the Heroes meeting back in El Nath. If any of you out there bothered to level Aran to 70 in the 'before time', you'll know about the jewel-consuming yeti. However, I personally think that Nexon has messed up on this so I will be using the other storyline about him just handing it over to Aran. Note that this chapter is the first time I will be switch POV's. Anyways, please remember to review and enjoy this new chapter.
(Aran)
"Master, get up!" Maha cried.
Aran was unconscious on the snowy ground. Her skin was blue and her lips were white. Ice battered her twitching, frozen form while Maha tried to shake her back to reality. The spirit's hands passed straight through Aran's form causing him to curse bitterly.
"Great, just great! I was just sitting in the back of Sir Blacksmith's shop enjoying myself and then Miss Big-Britches here has to take me away from my sanctuary! And to top it all, she's freezing away in the middle of a blizzard on a quest to defeat the goddamn BLACK MAGE!" he ranted.
Aran stirred at the sound of Maha's angry voice. Maha bent down in concern and checked her condition.
"... Maha?" she whispered.
"I'm here, master. You're going to be all right." Maha reassured her.
A howl caused Maha to jump up into the air. He looked around to try to find the source of the noise but it was impossible to see five feet in front of you in an El Nath blizzard. They were infamous for causing many a traveler to disappear mysteriously. Some said that there was a witch of snow that cursed stragglers to a cold and bitter end. Maha knew all to well that the legends were true. The howling grew louder and dark silhouettes appeared a few feet away. Maha cursed and tried to grab Aran to no avail.
"Master, get up! The Snow Witch is coming, I know it! She'll curse us both and kill us! Aran, master, get up! Get-" he was cut off by heavy footsteps in the snow.
A pack of wolves were darting towards the pair, panting and growling. Maha gave a ferocious battle cry and caused Aran's pole-arm to propel itself at the wolves. The weapon swung at the wolves, but it somehow went through them just like Maha's hand went through Aran. The pack circled the fallen warrior and drew in closer. From the back of the pack appeared a majestic wolf with snow-white fur. Its eyes were gray as a storm cloud and its feet gave a bluebell aura. There were light blue marks around its eyes that seemed to enhance the shimmer in his eyes as he strode regally to the unconscious hero. It tilted its head at Aran and lowered its face to lift her upright. Aran's eyes opened feebly and took in its appearance. In a trance-like state, she reached her arm forward to touch the wolf's forehead. Both her and the wolf's eyes began to glow a bright white that outshone the blizzard. It took the form of a bird with large white wings and a beautiful beak. It flew into the air and a massive light erupted and dissipated the snow storm. When the light returned to normal, the bird was gone. On the wolf's forehead was an imprint of a crimson red pole-arm in Maha's likeness. Aran was alert and fully healed from her frostbite.
"We will meet again, Hero of Rien." the wolf said before turning away and leaving with his pack in a column of icy smoke.
(Mercedes/Freud)
Freud awoke in the early morning with a gasp. He looked around and saw Mercedes sleeping under a tree beside him.
"Mercedes? Mercedes!" he shook her awake.
Mercedes got up in a instant and Freud found two Dual Bowguns pointed at his neck and chest. Seeing Freud, she calmed down and lowered her weapons.
"What is it?" she asked.
Then, she noticed her surroundings. They were in a green, moist forest where there was dew on the grass and small wildflowers grew.
"We're in Leafre..." she realized.
"Leafre? That's great! We can just head over to my laboratory near the city!" Freud cried.
"I've been working on a Teleport Rock." he explained, seeing Mercedes's confused face, "It's based on Onyx Dragon magic that I learned from Afrien."
"How far is it?" Mercedes asked.
"Not very... Yes - I can see the city from here!" he cried.
They broke into a run and headed towards the laboratory. It was a small cottage made of clay. Moss hung from the walls and was creeping its way near the windows. The chimney started to puffing smoke when Freud opened the whitewashed gate to his lab. The door magically opened and they entered it. Inside was a small chair with a matching desk. Carved on it were hundreds of archaic spells and equations that Mercedes could make neither head nor foot of. Freud waved his staff at the windows and caused them to open, letting the gentle morning sunlight. On the center of his desk was the prototype Teleport Rock. Freud grabbed it and muttered a spell.
"Now, you have to grab onto me tight so I can guide you to our destination. Only a mage can operate this and I've enchanted it so that only the user can be teleported. I've used the counter-jinx, but even I can't predict the results of my magic. So promise that you'll never let go, okay?" Freud asked.
"I promise." the elf said.
She grabbed onto Freud's shoulder and hugged it tight. Freud smiled and closed his eyes in concentration.
"Magicam Lapidem!" he cried.
The stone glowed yellow and sucked the two Heroes inside. They were whisked into a warp-hole that twisted and elongated them. Mercedes wanted to scream, but her stretched throat was incapable of making sound. Her fingers started to slip off of Freud one by one. Freud somehow managed to twist his neck back and saw Mercedes slipping away.
"Mercedes, you have to concentrate!" he cried telepathically.
"I'm trying!" she spoke with her eyes.
"Think about your promise - you're not going to let go of me!" Freud's voice echoed in her head.
"Don't.. let... go!" Mercedes clung onto Freud's words like a lifeline.
Her fingers found enough strength to grab onto Freud's wrist. The black surroundings around them melted away and they found themselves panting on the floor of Alcaster's study.
(Phantom/Luminous)
"More tea, sir?" Gaston asked Luminous, hovering a porcelain teapot over Luminous's crystal cup.
"No thank you, Gaston." Luminous tried to keep his tone civil.
He was sitting in the dining hall of the Lumiere. Phantom insisted that they both sit down for tea, despite Luminous's many protests. Luminous set down the fork he was using to move around his red velvet cake and looked at Phantom. The thief was eating like there was no tomorrow, chomping and gnashing his teeth. At one point, Luminous thought that he even heard a slurp.
"Master Phantom, may I remind you... again... that you must eat in a civilized fashion in front of guests?" Gaston spoke wearily.
Phantom looked at Gaston and made many mumbling noises and spat out crumbs of cake. Personally, the mage thought that it was an amazing feat that Phantom could even make a sound with so much junk stuffed into his voice-hole. Phantom spent ten entire seconds to process the cake and swallow it whole. Eyes streaming with water, the thief grinned and addressed Gaston.
"Come now, Gaston. Where's your sense of fun?" he jested.
"Fun? I've never heard such a word." Gaston smirked before walking away with a poise only he could carry.
Luminous tried to stifle a laugh behind his hand. During the course of the flight, he found that Gaston was the closest person to an Aurora member on board. The maids were paid not to think and the intelligence agents, though witty, were still not as dignified as an member of Aurora should be. And the two merchants Mathias and Serge looked as though they were kidnapped. Phantom strangely changed the subject when Luminous brought this up. During a brief tour of the vessel, Luminous was shocked to find a small dwarf stroking and hugging a safe. Phantom did not find this amusing, however and the short man found himself launched out of the room in a torrent of cartes while his master cried bloody murder.
"And when you come back, I expect an apology to the safe! It has too important of an item to be molested by anyone except me!" Phantom roared.
Luminous liked Renault, but found his head too high in the clouds (Although Luminous realized that everyone on boards' heads were high in the clouds).
"Phantom, this ship is now directly above Alcaster's house as you wished, sir!" Renault said.
"Perfect as usual, good man!" Phantom complimented.
"Why are we above Alcaster's house?" Luminous tentatively asked.
"Oh, you'll see." Phantom said cryptically.
He pushed a button and a door opened below their feet. Luminous screamed as they plummeted miles down to the ground. Phantom was in a perfect diving position. Luminous, however, was twisting and flailing, his screams echoing around the sky. Phantom landed on the ground as agile as a raven would perch on a tree. Luminous on the other hand, fell face-first into the snow, causing a small crater in the shape of a scrawny mage. Luminous got up and shook snow out of his hair. He tried to get up, but tripped over his rod and fell over again. Phantom took much humor at this sight and burst into laughter, tears rolling down his face. Luminous managed to straighten himself and shook his head.
"That's so mature, Phantom." he glared at the thief.
"A-At least... I can b-balance m-myself!" Phantom managed to choke out, roaring with laughter.
Luminous felt his cheeks burn red as Phantom continued to laugh maddeningly.
"I-I bet that... we won't even need... to seal the Black Mage! All we'll h-have to do is give you a... st-stick that's heavier on one end and let him... choke on his own breath!" Phantom spluttered.
Luminous rolled his eyes and walked into Alcaster's house with Phantom laughing behind him.
(Aran)
Aran walked on an icy ledge, fully healed from her hypothermia. Ever since her encounter with the Spirit Wolf, her skin glowed, strangely empowering her with her snowy surroundings. She spotted a hut near her and a massive yeti with his head down. She jumped off and landed in front of him. The yeti was crying, his beady eyes leaking tears. There was a vein pulsing from his temple, indicating that he was trying to prevent himself from going mad.
"Yeti sad. Yeti hate thieves..." she heard him mumbling.
"Tititi is sad. Tititi is mad. Tititi cries." he sobbed.
"Wh- What's wrong?" Aran asked the yeti.
Beside her, Maha spun his finger around the side of his head to which Aran ignored.
"Tititi made gem. Gem as red as apple. But thief stole gem. Tititi no longer has gem. Tititi is sad..." he said softly.
"A thief stole your red gem?" Aran asked.
Both she and Maha looked alert now, mentally preparing for a fight.
"Yes. Tititi wants gem back. Tititi reward you if you find gem. Catch thief and you get reward."
"I'll do it!" Aran cried.
"Thief went that way! Which way? Hold on... eat with right hand, not left hand... left! He went left! Go left and you find thief!" he pointed to a clearing to his left.
Aran ran towards the clearing and saw a black crow leaving and holding a red gem. Aran gave a battle cry and charged at him.
"Pole-arm Booster! Body Pressure! Combo Drain! Snow Charge! Might! Freeze Standing! Combo Barrier!" she cried, causing ice to empower her blows.
"Maha's Blessing!" Maha cried, adding his contribution to Aran's already great prowess.
The thief cawed and clawed at the warrior. However, he was no match for the Hero and soon lay in a pile of blood and feathers. Aran picked up the Red Jade and noticed an emblem around its twisted neck. Two black wings around a circle...
"The Black Mage..." Aran thought.
She turned around with her spoils and returned to the yeti.
"You find gem?" Tititi asked.
Aran nodded and handed him the gem.
"Wow! It Yeti Gem! Tititi see really red gem! You amazing!" he cried.
Aran blushed at this praise. Tititi gave the gem back to Aran as a reward.
"Yeti happy Yeti saw red gem. I give you gem now. Bye bye!" Tititi laughed.
Aran bowed respectfully to the yeti before taking her leave.
"Master, put the Red Jade on me!" Maha cried earnestly.
"All right, all right!" Aran said.
She inserted the jewel into the pole-arm. A brilliant yellow glow engulfed Maha as his power resonated around the environment. He stood in front of Aran, glowing with an orange-yellow aura.
"I have enough power to take us both to Alcaster." Maha said, "Hang on tight to me, master!"
Aran held on tight to the weapon and closed his eyes. A rune glowed underneath the Ice Warrior and they were engulfed in light. When Aran opened her eyes, she was standing in the middle of Alcaster's study with him and the other Heroes staring awestruck at her.