Alchemy Destinies
By: The Digital One
Saturos and Mernardi continue to track down the secrets of Alchemy, and this time, they find a clue! Next chapter will be Alex and Mia (if you haven't guessed already, they were in Mogall forest), somewhere in Angara. Possibly the next, next chapter will be life in Vale. If the violence in this chapter is too 'intense,' sorry. ^^;; Anyway, I hope you enjoy. It only took me a day to scribble out my thoughts, so I apologize if this chapter makes the plot go awry. I've decided to start the chapter immediately after the first one, so if you don't understand the first few lines, read the last lines in the default chapter.
---
Chapter Three: First clue
"A compass?" Mernardi muttered the strange word.
Saturos rolled his eyes. "Now I know what the Quill was talking about earlier. You are a total moron… maybe even a klutz."
"Well, I'm not up to date with the latest… crap today! I have my own beauty to take care of!" Mernardi shot a nasty look at Saturos.
"Well, a compass is a tool used to tell us which way is north. The Chinese invented it," Saturos tried to explain calmly.
Mernardi nodded. "Well, if the Chinese invented it, of course I don't know! We live no where near China!"
"Keridi brought back a compass from his expeditions to trade silk on the Silk Road; obviously you don't keep up with any missions issued to clan members! How would you feel if we nearly died trying to complete our mission and someone like… you… didn't give shit about what we did?"
"Keridi couldn't have died during trading," Mernardi said simply.
"You won't give up without a fight, eh, Mernardi? Well, for your information, Keridi claimed a giant silk worm tried to eat him up!" Saturos said.
Mernardi laughed. "And you believed him? Ha, you hardheaded moron, you would have believed the earth was round if a worm told you!"
"Whatever. Mernardi, haven't we wasted enough time? Let's go now, even though we have no damned clue of where we are," Saturos spat. He walked; assuming what was in front of him was north.
Mernardi sighed, and followed Saturos. "You know, you'll get us lost."
Saturos turned over to Mernardi, and gave her a pained look. "I outrank you, Mernardi! Not by much, but that's what matters! I outrank you, clear?"
"I'm much more smarter. Just 'cause you were born before I was, doesn't mean you're smarter," Mernardi stuck her tongue out.
"Mernardi, that's not what matters. The highest ranked person leads a group."
"Only by a little, c'mon, Saturos… let me lead the way for once!"
"No!"
"Please?"
"Listen, Mernardi, I'm taking no crap from you during this mission, and I'm going to get a promotion!"
Just then, a stone came flinging into the air, hitting Saturos' chest. It didn't hurt him much, but he did make a big deal out of it.
"Mernardi! Didn't you just hear what I said? I'm taking no crap from you!" Saturos said, enraged.
"What?"
"Huh, trying to piss me off, eh? You're making a big mistake, woman!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Mernardi showed irritation in her voice.
"Hello? I was—"
Suddenly, a small child with green hair appeared, with black plant dye all over his face. He was wearing brown skins. He looked at Saturos, and bared his teeth.
"No one passes here without payin' a price, barbarians!" The small child clutched his fists.
"And what will a little runt do about it?" Mernardi sneered.
"Call upon the Bravado Tribe, that's what, you clown!" The boy replied.
"Oooh! Mernardi has been maligned!" Saturos said darkly, but loudly.
"Oooh… that is IT," Mernardi drew out her scythe, and ran up to the boy.
"DEATH SIZE!" Mernardi yelled in rage. A powerful force came from her scythe, almost cutting the boy's hand off.
"Cheap sword tricks!" The boy blew on his hand and shook it. "You will pay!" The boy used his other hand to swipe Saturos' sword. Saturos chuckled, and allowed the boy to do whatever he wanted with his sword.
"Now, let's duel!" The boy swiftly ran up to Mernardi, and poked her leg with Saturos' sword.
"You want to see my true powers?" Mernardi said warningly. The boy just scoffed.
"Bah, you? Powers? You might have the power to scare babes away with that face of yours!" The boy kept slashing the air with Saturos' sword. Saturos thought the fight was going to be entertaining, so he sat back.
"Speak no nonsense, child! I'll spare your life by giving you one last warning, leave, or die!" Mernardi clutched the scythe with both hands.
"I'll never give up, in the name of the Bravado Tribe!" The boy shouted.
"Tony!" An oily voice called. Saturos stared lazily at the man that appeared. He had light green hair and was wearing skins, like the boy was.
"Chief! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting!" The boy dropped Saturos sword, and bowed.
"You know nothing, child. Let them pass our lands, for I sense a great power within them. They will not tolerate foolishness displayed by anyone," The man looked, and smiled weakly at the two travelers.
"That's too late, buddy. The boy has displayed his attitude and character. He displays poor character, and for that, he'll be punished," Saturos pick up his sword, and chuckled.
"About time we start agreeing, Saturos! Yes, prepare to die!" Mernardi smirked.
"Please, do not harm Tony. He is just a boy," The man blocked their vision of Tony with his body, trying to protect him.
Mernardi suddenly smiled. "Sure, if…" Saturos made a face, as if Mernardi's idea would be plainly dumb.
"What? I'll see if I can answer your question…" The old man said.
"Do you know anything about alchemy?" Mernardi asked. Saturos hit his head, sighing.
The man looked behind him. Tony walked up to Mernardi.
"Why would we tell a freak like you, even if we did know? Nyahh!" Tony stuck his tongue out. Mernardi playfully swiped her scythe at Tony, which made him squeal, and hide behind the man.
"Tony, I order you to stop taunting this… lovely woman!" The man scolded.
Tony couldn't help but to snigger. "Lovely? … Oh yes, lovely…" he faltered at the man's gaze.
Saturos laughed. "Har, Mernardi is a lovely girl. I especially love her attitude."
Mernardi scowled at Saturos. "Anyway, do you know anything about alchemy?"
"Alchemy?" The man stammered. "I… I've never heard of it…"
"Tell us the truth, man, of you'll never see the sun rise ever…" Saturos threatened, trying to make Mernardi sound less stupid. "Nor will your precious boy."
"I am… telling you the truth!" The man said, backing up.
"Believe me; I know you know at least one thing about alchemy…" Saturos rasped.
"I don't… except for the meaning!" The man said, with fear in his voice.
"That is something you know, old man… you can't lie to me…" Saturos breathed on the man's face. The man's eyes were widened, his whole body petrified. Saturos quickly kicked the man in his stomach, which knocked him out. The boy squeaked, and fled. Saturos chuckled dryly.
"Haha, morons. They never learn how to deal with reality. I wonder how weak the old man's tribe is? Maybe we should take the fun to kill them all?" Mernardi put her hands on her hips.
Saturos shook his head. "No… we can't afford to waste anytime within territory of madmen. Since we can cross their territory safely now, we should take the chance, and leave."
Mernardi frowned. "You know, I wish I can outrank you…"
Saturos forced a laugh. "Haw! Dream on, girl. Now, let's go."
---
Tony's cheeks were strained in tears. He was whining loudly, running back to his tribe. Soon, he encountered Mary, a tribe member. She was picking red berries from a bush, and putting them in a straw basket.
"Mary! Mary!" Mary looked up at Tony's fear-stricken face.
"Oh, dear, what happened? What's wrong?" Mary dropped the basket, and hugged Tony. Tony kept on whining.
"Two scary looking people came and killed the chief! Oh Mary, it was so scary!" Tony hugged Mary backed, sobbing into her skirt.
"Tony, this better not be one of your stories, where is the chief now?" Mary picked up her basket, and put the berries back in.
"Come on! Follow me!" Tony ran off. He stopped crying, and had a nasty feeling that the clowns would want to kill him.
---
Saturos looked back at Mernardi.
"You know, maybe we should go back, get the guy's body, and hold ransom. We do need money for our trip," Saturos turned around, and walked toward the opposite direction. Mernardi rolled her eyes and followed Saturos.
"You know, Saturos… you should listen to me when I say something. You end up doing it, anyway," Mernardi said.
"I make the decisions. I always consider things."
"Riight…"
Saturos smiled briefly. "Well, look; he's still knocked out, heh. Do you have a blindfold, or a rope?"
"Of course I don't. Why would I carry such dumb items?"
"Uhh… for survival? Duh! Sheesh, Mernardi, help me carry this guy." Saturos grabbed his arms.
"Not so fast, imbeciles!" a familiar voice rang out. It was Tony, along with a teenaged girl. Saturos smirked.
"Wow, Tony brought along his mom! Think she can defeat us, eh, boy?" Saturos mustered all his strength, and put the chief onto his back.
"You better give us back the chief!" the girl yelled.
"What will you do about it, girl?" Mernardi sneered.
The girl scowled at Mernardi. "You just wait and see… ALABARON!" the woman yelled into the sky.
"Wow, she's tough, mm, Mernardi?" Saturos looked lazily toward the young girl.
"Oh, yes, definitely. A war cry really scares the hell out of me, yep," Mernardi smiled.
Suddenly, almost a score of men, all wearing brown animal skins came stampeding out of nowhere. They all carried spears, and started attacking Saturos and Mernardi. They managed to tie them both together, successfully took away their weapons, and about five men carried Saturos and Mernardi back to their village. The others carried and guarded the chief.
"Saturos, what is happening?" Mernardi said painfully, trying to escape from the ropes.
"We'll wait. They're probably going to take us to their village."
"What if they… kill us?"
"Bah, we're adepts… Mernardi. They can't kill us easily. I want to see their little village," Saturos whispered to her.
A man holding up Saturos chuckled. "You can die easily in our inferno pit. No one has yet to survive. The longest one has ever survived would be 4 hours."
"You must kill children for that matter. Your tribe probably would never experience any powers of our sort," Mernardi said with a tone of anger in her voice.
"Savor the feeling of life, while you can," another man sneered.
Mernardi looked at Saturos. He was lying on the arms of three men carrying, looking at the sky.
"How the hell can you be so calm?" Mernardi asked Saturos.
Saturos looked at Mernardi. "I can't see why you're worried. You actually think we'll really get kill by the likes of… them?" Mernardi didn't say anything.
"Your death is drawing nearer. We're already in our village, and we're following the path to the inferno pit," a man said. Saturos looked around their village. It was basically like any old town, houses scattered everywhere, and the occasional marketplace. They suddenly reached a totally empty area, with a small hole in the ground.
"Tell the devil the Bravado Tribe sent you!" another man said. The men immediately lowered Saturos and Mernardi into the most miserable pit anyone could've imagined. It was a thin hole buried deep in the ground, with a couple of bones scattered on the bottom. The men, with great difficulty, pushed Saturos and Mernardi down the pit.
"Live a happy life in hell!" a voice echoed from the outside of the pit.
---
"Mernardi, get off of me, I can barely breath in this hole," Saturos was in an uncomfortable prone position, and Mernardi's head was on his chest, her feet up in the air.
"How the hell can I? I'm starving, my mouth is dry, and I can't feel any blood in my legs," Mernardi complained.
"How long have we been in here, anyway?" Saturos asked. It seemed difficult for him to speak.
"Dunno, really. Probably more than four hours," Mernardi said weakly.
"So… heh, any ideas on how we're getting out of this hellhole?"
"Saturos, you bitch, I knew we should have escaped while we had the chance! I dunno about you, but maybe my psynergy can bounce off of you to create a force strong enough to make me go flying out of this hole?" Mernardi said. She groaned, bit on the ropes, and finally got the ropes binding her hands together to break apart. "Want me to try?"
"No, but I have an idea, here, untie these ropes on my hands…" Mernardi nodded, and took off the ropes on her legs before releasing Saturos. Saturos smiled.
"Thank you, Mernardi," Saturos closed his eyes, and purple lights surrounded him.
"What will a higher attack do for you?" Mernardi scoffed. Saturos was performing an impact spell.
"Just wait and see," Saturos smiled at Mernardi.
"NOVA!" Saturos yelled. A big explosion caused the whole hole to widen, but collapse. Mernardi performed a Halt spell to stop the collapsing, and they both got safely out of the hole before it caved in. Several people came running toward the open area.
"What the hell's going on?" a man that carried Saturos earlier yelled. Saturos walked up to him, holding up his hand.
"Today's going to be a warm day in hell," Saturos said hoarsely. "For many will be joining the devil today. INFERNO!" Massive fireballs came shooting out of Saturos' hand. Mernardi was also attacking the curious villagers that gathered around the square. Several others fled from the scene when they found out what was the cause of all the noise. Saturos managed to kill some villagers that fled, including Tony. Saturos walked up to Tony, and put his hand around Tony's neck, gripping it hardly.
"Vengeance is such a sweet thing," Saturos rasped, before choking Tony to death.
After several minutes of fighting, the only survivors were ones that fled, or were sound asleep during the melee. Since both Saturos and Mernardi's psynergy were totally drained, they decided to let the few remaining survivors live. To recharge their psynergy, they walked into houses, looking for clues for their mission.
"What a day, huh, Saturos?" Mernardi said wearily, throwing books on the floor of a vacant house.
"I've enjoyed it," Saturos said, flipping through a book. He threw the book on the ground, and went to the table in the house, with a half-eaten meal remaining on the table. He tore greedily at the food, and drank from a wooden goblet.
"Well, Saturos, you'll be one of the weirder people I'll ever meet in my life," Mernardi said.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Saturos smiled at Mernardi, showing his sharp teeth.
---
Saturos and Mernardi reached a house that had the words "ALABARON" engraved on the door. When they entered the house, they were surprised to find the chief lying on a bed. The house was extremely small. There was a small stove, and a bookcase, besides the bed the chief was lying on.
"I had a feeling he was lying about how he didn't know anything about alchemy. This place shall be one of the more interesting we've visited," Saturos said. He got a leather-bound book out of the bookcase. The book was labeled "Unknown Legends." Saturos flipped to the first page, and read aloud:
"Long ago, a curious, yet greedy young man found a magical stone on the ground, and rubbed it for no apparent reason. His curiosity award him, for a mercury djinni popped out, and told the man that it can grant one wish for the man before it would be free. Because the young man was extremely greedy, so he asked for a stone that can turn common base metals into pure gold. The djinni granted him his wish, leaving four stones in his possession; the Venus Star, the Mars Star, the Mercury Star, and the Jupiter Star. The djinni told him that the stones not only can make base metals into solid gold, but it can also provide elemental power to summon all sorts of magic. The only problem was that the djinni didn't tell the man how to use the star's powers; thus, his wish was useless. Enraged and blinded by his greed, he threw the stones out in the mountains where he found the magical stone, causing the mountain to form a secret tunnel. That was hundreds of years ago. After a long period of time, a poor traveler found the secret passage in the mountains, to find the legendary sanctum built in the honor of the sun – Sol Sanctum. Obstacles and puzzles blocked the traveler's way, but he managed to get into the heart of Sol Sanctum, where the elemental djinn, including the same djinni that created the Elemental Stars, were guarding the Stars. When the man tried to get the Jupiter Star, bolts of lightning came from the statue wielding the Wind powers, for the man didn't have the Mytril bags in his possession. The guardian of the chamber made the man teleport back to his village, and the whole study of alchemy started when the man gave the information out. Though he had no proof that this really happened, many sages believed him and started devoting their lives into finding the Elemental Stars, or cracking the core of alchemy." Saturos turned the page, but there was only a story about "Secrets of the Lighthouses." Saturos scowled.
"Wow, is that really how alchemy started?" Mernardi said who was sitting on the chief's bed.
"Most likely," Saturos shrugged. "I have a funny feeling we'll need this book for future uses. C'mon, it's almost sunrise, we better go…"
---
Here might be a tidbit of info you'll need if you want to understand this story a little bit more. The Chinese invented the compass, yes. I'm assuming the Golden Sun world is really earth in the Middle Ages, if you look at the full map of where you visit in Golden Sun, it looks suspiciously a lot like Europe, Asia, and Africa. I'm also guessing since Saturos and Mernardi are part of the fire clan of the north, they must live in North America. Yes, they will be riding toward Europe soon, but I'm not going to write a Saturos and Mernardi chapter anytime soon. I'm currently working on a chapter on Luke's clan, and after that, a chapter on Vale. I'm getting other ideas on adding not adding Ivan to this story, because after talking with someone, I have some theories on Ivan's past… his family. Well, anyway, I hope I didn't rush through tis chapter, hehe, taking an advantage over Spring Break ^_^
By: The Digital One
Saturos and Mernardi continue to track down the secrets of Alchemy, and this time, they find a clue! Next chapter will be Alex and Mia (if you haven't guessed already, they were in Mogall forest), somewhere in Angara. Possibly the next, next chapter will be life in Vale. If the violence in this chapter is too 'intense,' sorry. ^^;; Anyway, I hope you enjoy. It only took me a day to scribble out my thoughts, so I apologize if this chapter makes the plot go awry. I've decided to start the chapter immediately after the first one, so if you don't understand the first few lines, read the last lines in the default chapter.
---
Chapter Three: First clue
"A compass?" Mernardi muttered the strange word.
Saturos rolled his eyes. "Now I know what the Quill was talking about earlier. You are a total moron… maybe even a klutz."
"Well, I'm not up to date with the latest… crap today! I have my own beauty to take care of!" Mernardi shot a nasty look at Saturos.
"Well, a compass is a tool used to tell us which way is north. The Chinese invented it," Saturos tried to explain calmly.
Mernardi nodded. "Well, if the Chinese invented it, of course I don't know! We live no where near China!"
"Keridi brought back a compass from his expeditions to trade silk on the Silk Road; obviously you don't keep up with any missions issued to clan members! How would you feel if we nearly died trying to complete our mission and someone like… you… didn't give shit about what we did?"
"Keridi couldn't have died during trading," Mernardi said simply.
"You won't give up without a fight, eh, Mernardi? Well, for your information, Keridi claimed a giant silk worm tried to eat him up!" Saturos said.
Mernardi laughed. "And you believed him? Ha, you hardheaded moron, you would have believed the earth was round if a worm told you!"
"Whatever. Mernardi, haven't we wasted enough time? Let's go now, even though we have no damned clue of where we are," Saturos spat. He walked; assuming what was in front of him was north.
Mernardi sighed, and followed Saturos. "You know, you'll get us lost."
Saturos turned over to Mernardi, and gave her a pained look. "I outrank you, Mernardi! Not by much, but that's what matters! I outrank you, clear?"
"I'm much more smarter. Just 'cause you were born before I was, doesn't mean you're smarter," Mernardi stuck her tongue out.
"Mernardi, that's not what matters. The highest ranked person leads a group."
"Only by a little, c'mon, Saturos… let me lead the way for once!"
"No!"
"Please?"
"Listen, Mernardi, I'm taking no crap from you during this mission, and I'm going to get a promotion!"
Just then, a stone came flinging into the air, hitting Saturos' chest. It didn't hurt him much, but he did make a big deal out of it.
"Mernardi! Didn't you just hear what I said? I'm taking no crap from you!" Saturos said, enraged.
"What?"
"Huh, trying to piss me off, eh? You're making a big mistake, woman!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Mernardi showed irritation in her voice.
"Hello? I was—"
Suddenly, a small child with green hair appeared, with black plant dye all over his face. He was wearing brown skins. He looked at Saturos, and bared his teeth.
"No one passes here without payin' a price, barbarians!" The small child clutched his fists.
"And what will a little runt do about it?" Mernardi sneered.
"Call upon the Bravado Tribe, that's what, you clown!" The boy replied.
"Oooh! Mernardi has been maligned!" Saturos said darkly, but loudly.
"Oooh… that is IT," Mernardi drew out her scythe, and ran up to the boy.
"DEATH SIZE!" Mernardi yelled in rage. A powerful force came from her scythe, almost cutting the boy's hand off.
"Cheap sword tricks!" The boy blew on his hand and shook it. "You will pay!" The boy used his other hand to swipe Saturos' sword. Saturos chuckled, and allowed the boy to do whatever he wanted with his sword.
"Now, let's duel!" The boy swiftly ran up to Mernardi, and poked her leg with Saturos' sword.
"You want to see my true powers?" Mernardi said warningly. The boy just scoffed.
"Bah, you? Powers? You might have the power to scare babes away with that face of yours!" The boy kept slashing the air with Saturos' sword. Saturos thought the fight was going to be entertaining, so he sat back.
"Speak no nonsense, child! I'll spare your life by giving you one last warning, leave, or die!" Mernardi clutched the scythe with both hands.
"I'll never give up, in the name of the Bravado Tribe!" The boy shouted.
"Tony!" An oily voice called. Saturos stared lazily at the man that appeared. He had light green hair and was wearing skins, like the boy was.
"Chief! What are you doing here? You're supposed to be resting!" The boy dropped Saturos sword, and bowed.
"You know nothing, child. Let them pass our lands, for I sense a great power within them. They will not tolerate foolishness displayed by anyone," The man looked, and smiled weakly at the two travelers.
"That's too late, buddy. The boy has displayed his attitude and character. He displays poor character, and for that, he'll be punished," Saturos pick up his sword, and chuckled.
"About time we start agreeing, Saturos! Yes, prepare to die!" Mernardi smirked.
"Please, do not harm Tony. He is just a boy," The man blocked their vision of Tony with his body, trying to protect him.
Mernardi suddenly smiled. "Sure, if…" Saturos made a face, as if Mernardi's idea would be plainly dumb.
"What? I'll see if I can answer your question…" The old man said.
"Do you know anything about alchemy?" Mernardi asked. Saturos hit his head, sighing.
The man looked behind him. Tony walked up to Mernardi.
"Why would we tell a freak like you, even if we did know? Nyahh!" Tony stuck his tongue out. Mernardi playfully swiped her scythe at Tony, which made him squeal, and hide behind the man.
"Tony, I order you to stop taunting this… lovely woman!" The man scolded.
Tony couldn't help but to snigger. "Lovely? … Oh yes, lovely…" he faltered at the man's gaze.
Saturos laughed. "Har, Mernardi is a lovely girl. I especially love her attitude."
Mernardi scowled at Saturos. "Anyway, do you know anything about alchemy?"
"Alchemy?" The man stammered. "I… I've never heard of it…"
"Tell us the truth, man, of you'll never see the sun rise ever…" Saturos threatened, trying to make Mernardi sound less stupid. "Nor will your precious boy."
"I am… telling you the truth!" The man said, backing up.
"Believe me; I know you know at least one thing about alchemy…" Saturos rasped.
"I don't… except for the meaning!" The man said, with fear in his voice.
"That is something you know, old man… you can't lie to me…" Saturos breathed on the man's face. The man's eyes were widened, his whole body petrified. Saturos quickly kicked the man in his stomach, which knocked him out. The boy squeaked, and fled. Saturos chuckled dryly.
"Haha, morons. They never learn how to deal with reality. I wonder how weak the old man's tribe is? Maybe we should take the fun to kill them all?" Mernardi put her hands on her hips.
Saturos shook his head. "No… we can't afford to waste anytime within territory of madmen. Since we can cross their territory safely now, we should take the chance, and leave."
Mernardi frowned. "You know, I wish I can outrank you…"
Saturos forced a laugh. "Haw! Dream on, girl. Now, let's go."
---
Tony's cheeks were strained in tears. He was whining loudly, running back to his tribe. Soon, he encountered Mary, a tribe member. She was picking red berries from a bush, and putting them in a straw basket.
"Mary! Mary!" Mary looked up at Tony's fear-stricken face.
"Oh, dear, what happened? What's wrong?" Mary dropped the basket, and hugged Tony. Tony kept on whining.
"Two scary looking people came and killed the chief! Oh Mary, it was so scary!" Tony hugged Mary backed, sobbing into her skirt.
"Tony, this better not be one of your stories, where is the chief now?" Mary picked up her basket, and put the berries back in.
"Come on! Follow me!" Tony ran off. He stopped crying, and had a nasty feeling that the clowns would want to kill him.
---
Saturos looked back at Mernardi.
"You know, maybe we should go back, get the guy's body, and hold ransom. We do need money for our trip," Saturos turned around, and walked toward the opposite direction. Mernardi rolled her eyes and followed Saturos.
"You know, Saturos… you should listen to me when I say something. You end up doing it, anyway," Mernardi said.
"I make the decisions. I always consider things."
"Riight…"
Saturos smiled briefly. "Well, look; he's still knocked out, heh. Do you have a blindfold, or a rope?"
"Of course I don't. Why would I carry such dumb items?"
"Uhh… for survival? Duh! Sheesh, Mernardi, help me carry this guy." Saturos grabbed his arms.
"Not so fast, imbeciles!" a familiar voice rang out. It was Tony, along with a teenaged girl. Saturos smirked.
"Wow, Tony brought along his mom! Think she can defeat us, eh, boy?" Saturos mustered all his strength, and put the chief onto his back.
"You better give us back the chief!" the girl yelled.
"What will you do about it, girl?" Mernardi sneered.
The girl scowled at Mernardi. "You just wait and see… ALABARON!" the woman yelled into the sky.
"Wow, she's tough, mm, Mernardi?" Saturos looked lazily toward the young girl.
"Oh, yes, definitely. A war cry really scares the hell out of me, yep," Mernardi smiled.
Suddenly, almost a score of men, all wearing brown animal skins came stampeding out of nowhere. They all carried spears, and started attacking Saturos and Mernardi. They managed to tie them both together, successfully took away their weapons, and about five men carried Saturos and Mernardi back to their village. The others carried and guarded the chief.
"Saturos, what is happening?" Mernardi said painfully, trying to escape from the ropes.
"We'll wait. They're probably going to take us to their village."
"What if they… kill us?"
"Bah, we're adepts… Mernardi. They can't kill us easily. I want to see their little village," Saturos whispered to her.
A man holding up Saturos chuckled. "You can die easily in our inferno pit. No one has yet to survive. The longest one has ever survived would be 4 hours."
"You must kill children for that matter. Your tribe probably would never experience any powers of our sort," Mernardi said with a tone of anger in her voice.
"Savor the feeling of life, while you can," another man sneered.
Mernardi looked at Saturos. He was lying on the arms of three men carrying, looking at the sky.
"How the hell can you be so calm?" Mernardi asked Saturos.
Saturos looked at Mernardi. "I can't see why you're worried. You actually think we'll really get kill by the likes of… them?" Mernardi didn't say anything.
"Your death is drawing nearer. We're already in our village, and we're following the path to the inferno pit," a man said. Saturos looked around their village. It was basically like any old town, houses scattered everywhere, and the occasional marketplace. They suddenly reached a totally empty area, with a small hole in the ground.
"Tell the devil the Bravado Tribe sent you!" another man said. The men immediately lowered Saturos and Mernardi into the most miserable pit anyone could've imagined. It was a thin hole buried deep in the ground, with a couple of bones scattered on the bottom. The men, with great difficulty, pushed Saturos and Mernardi down the pit.
"Live a happy life in hell!" a voice echoed from the outside of the pit.
---
"Mernardi, get off of me, I can barely breath in this hole," Saturos was in an uncomfortable prone position, and Mernardi's head was on his chest, her feet up in the air.
"How the hell can I? I'm starving, my mouth is dry, and I can't feel any blood in my legs," Mernardi complained.
"How long have we been in here, anyway?" Saturos asked. It seemed difficult for him to speak.
"Dunno, really. Probably more than four hours," Mernardi said weakly.
"So… heh, any ideas on how we're getting out of this hellhole?"
"Saturos, you bitch, I knew we should have escaped while we had the chance! I dunno about you, but maybe my psynergy can bounce off of you to create a force strong enough to make me go flying out of this hole?" Mernardi said. She groaned, bit on the ropes, and finally got the ropes binding her hands together to break apart. "Want me to try?"
"No, but I have an idea, here, untie these ropes on my hands…" Mernardi nodded, and took off the ropes on her legs before releasing Saturos. Saturos smiled.
"Thank you, Mernardi," Saturos closed his eyes, and purple lights surrounded him.
"What will a higher attack do for you?" Mernardi scoffed. Saturos was performing an impact spell.
"Just wait and see," Saturos smiled at Mernardi.
"NOVA!" Saturos yelled. A big explosion caused the whole hole to widen, but collapse. Mernardi performed a Halt spell to stop the collapsing, and they both got safely out of the hole before it caved in. Several people came running toward the open area.
"What the hell's going on?" a man that carried Saturos earlier yelled. Saturos walked up to him, holding up his hand.
"Today's going to be a warm day in hell," Saturos said hoarsely. "For many will be joining the devil today. INFERNO!" Massive fireballs came shooting out of Saturos' hand. Mernardi was also attacking the curious villagers that gathered around the square. Several others fled from the scene when they found out what was the cause of all the noise. Saturos managed to kill some villagers that fled, including Tony. Saturos walked up to Tony, and put his hand around Tony's neck, gripping it hardly.
"Vengeance is such a sweet thing," Saturos rasped, before choking Tony to death.
After several minutes of fighting, the only survivors were ones that fled, or were sound asleep during the melee. Since both Saturos and Mernardi's psynergy were totally drained, they decided to let the few remaining survivors live. To recharge their psynergy, they walked into houses, looking for clues for their mission.
"What a day, huh, Saturos?" Mernardi said wearily, throwing books on the floor of a vacant house.
"I've enjoyed it," Saturos said, flipping through a book. He threw the book on the ground, and went to the table in the house, with a half-eaten meal remaining on the table. He tore greedily at the food, and drank from a wooden goblet.
"Well, Saturos, you'll be one of the weirder people I'll ever meet in my life," Mernardi said.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Saturos smiled at Mernardi, showing his sharp teeth.
---
Saturos and Mernardi reached a house that had the words "ALABARON" engraved on the door. When they entered the house, they were surprised to find the chief lying on a bed. The house was extremely small. There was a small stove, and a bookcase, besides the bed the chief was lying on.
"I had a feeling he was lying about how he didn't know anything about alchemy. This place shall be one of the more interesting we've visited," Saturos said. He got a leather-bound book out of the bookcase. The book was labeled "Unknown Legends." Saturos flipped to the first page, and read aloud:
"Long ago, a curious, yet greedy young man found a magical stone on the ground, and rubbed it for no apparent reason. His curiosity award him, for a mercury djinni popped out, and told the man that it can grant one wish for the man before it would be free. Because the young man was extremely greedy, so he asked for a stone that can turn common base metals into pure gold. The djinni granted him his wish, leaving four stones in his possession; the Venus Star, the Mars Star, the Mercury Star, and the Jupiter Star. The djinni told him that the stones not only can make base metals into solid gold, but it can also provide elemental power to summon all sorts of magic. The only problem was that the djinni didn't tell the man how to use the star's powers; thus, his wish was useless. Enraged and blinded by his greed, he threw the stones out in the mountains where he found the magical stone, causing the mountain to form a secret tunnel. That was hundreds of years ago. After a long period of time, a poor traveler found the secret passage in the mountains, to find the legendary sanctum built in the honor of the sun – Sol Sanctum. Obstacles and puzzles blocked the traveler's way, but he managed to get into the heart of Sol Sanctum, where the elemental djinn, including the same djinni that created the Elemental Stars, were guarding the Stars. When the man tried to get the Jupiter Star, bolts of lightning came from the statue wielding the Wind powers, for the man didn't have the Mytril bags in his possession. The guardian of the chamber made the man teleport back to his village, and the whole study of alchemy started when the man gave the information out. Though he had no proof that this really happened, many sages believed him and started devoting their lives into finding the Elemental Stars, or cracking the core of alchemy." Saturos turned the page, but there was only a story about "Secrets of the Lighthouses." Saturos scowled.
"Wow, is that really how alchemy started?" Mernardi said who was sitting on the chief's bed.
"Most likely," Saturos shrugged. "I have a funny feeling we'll need this book for future uses. C'mon, it's almost sunrise, we better go…"
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Here might be a tidbit of info you'll need if you want to understand this story a little bit more. The Chinese invented the compass, yes. I'm assuming the Golden Sun world is really earth in the Middle Ages, if you look at the full map of where you visit in Golden Sun, it looks suspiciously a lot like Europe, Asia, and Africa. I'm also guessing since Saturos and Mernardi are part of the fire clan of the north, they must live in North America. Yes, they will be riding toward Europe soon, but I'm not going to write a Saturos and Mernardi chapter anytime soon. I'm currently working on a chapter on Luke's clan, and after that, a chapter on Vale. I'm getting other ideas on adding not adding Ivan to this story, because after talking with someone, I have some theories on Ivan's past… his family. Well, anyway, I hope I didn't rush through tis chapter, hehe, taking an advantage over Spring Break ^_^