Disclaimer: Sheesh, this makes the tenth time I've written one of these things and I'm running out of witty ways to say it! I don't own Golden Sun (it's not witty, but it gets the job done).
*Chapter 10*
"So that's Tartarus, eh?" Garet implored, looking at the village in the distance. "It looks kind of unassuming doesn't it?"
"I must admit that I thought it would be more intimidating," said Ivan. "It looks like an ordinary village from here."
"Except for this," Sheba said, pointing to a large sign next to the road. "This doesn't bode well."
TARTARUS--DOMAIN OF THE NORTH FIRE CLAN. OUTSIDERS BEWARE: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.
"Swell," said Jenna after reading the sign.
"What's the plan, Isaac?" Garet asked.
"Well, we can't just stroll in, that's for sure," Isaac replied. He looked at the village, thinking of Mia and wondering where she was in there. "A group of five is too intimidating, especially if any of us start asking questions about a Mercury Adept. I think it would be best if one of us went in, located Mia, and then came back to fill in everyone else."
The others nodded in agreement. "So who gets the honors?" Garet asked. "Can I do it? I love espionage!"
"You couldn't be stealthy if your life depended on it!" Jenna exclaimed. "You'd trip and fall down or shoot your mouth off at something!"
"And I suppose that you could keep a low profile with that hot temper of yours, huh?" Garet huffed indignantly.
"Hot temper?" Jenna demanded. "You're one to talk, mister I'll curse at the ocean in the middle of a hurricane!"
"Quiet, both of you," Isaac said firmly. "Neither of you are going in there. Garet, you're too slow and Jenna, you're way too impatient."
"Slow?!" Garet fumed.
"Impatient?!" Jenna added.
"Hey, the truth hurts," said Isaac with a slight laugh. Ivan and Sheba giggled as the two fire Adepts glowered at one another and at their leader.
"All right, then who gets to go?" Garet questioned.
"Our spy has to be fast just in case something goes wrong and a quick escape is necessary," said Isaac. "And the ability to read minds wouldn't hurt either." He looked to Ivan and Sheba.
"Us?" they asked together.
"You two are the fastest," Isaac said. "And since you can both read minds, you wouldn't even have to ask questions to find Mia--you could just read everyone for clues."
Sheba visibly cringed. Looking at that place was frightening enough. There was no way she could go inside the village walls all by herself, even if was to help Mia. Ivan could feel her fear and understood. It was different for her since she had actually experienced Saturos and Menardi first hand.
"I'll do it," said Ivan. Sheba inwardly sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Ivan," said Isaac. "Please, be careful, and get out of there at the first sign of trouble."
Ivan nodded and handed his staff to Sheba, since carrying a weapon might not be wise. Taking a deep breath to gather courage, he turned and headed for Tartarus.
On the surface, Tartarus appeared to be an ordinary village. While each citizen had the distinct dragon scales and pointed ears characteristic of the Fire Clan, they all milled about the streets the same way people did in every village Ivan had seen. He made careful mental notes of the layout of the buildings, but everything seemed quite ordinary. As he tried to blend in with the crowds, he scanned the minds of each villager that he passed. Practically everything on their minds was regular, mundane activities such as the day's chores or what had to be purchased at the market. Peculiar, Ivan thought. This is all so normal, yet this is the place that spawned cold-hearted individuals like Saturos and Menardi. If everyone here is that nasty, I'm not seeing much evidence of it.
A little boy and his mother caught his attention in the marketplace.
"But why do I have to eat yucky vegetables to get strong?" the boy whined. "If I get sick, can't the water lady just heal me?"
"The water lady won't always be here," his mother snapped. "Now come on!"
'Water lady?' Ivan wondered. Mia! Who else could it be? Now he was getting somewhere! He continued through the streets, checking random memories as he went for more evidence. Someone had to know where Mia was. Oddly, the people thinking about her seemed to be singing her praises for healing their ailments. Why would the Fire Clan be praising a Mercury Adept? Wouldn't they rather condemn her watery powers?
"I haven't felt this good in years!" he heard one old man declare. "That healer's powers sure did the trick."
"Maybe we should keep her around," his friend suggested sarcastically. Both of them laughed.
"That'll be the day!" said the first man. "A Mercury Adept living in Tartarus? It'll never happen!"
"Good riddance to all of their cursed race," said the second man. "Even their healing powers aren't reason enough to let any of them live."
So that's it, Ivan thought, thoroughly disgusted. Once Mia healed everyone in the village, she became disposable! Something sank within him. What if they'd already killed her?
"Of course," the first man said. "I hope those guards at the prison let that wench suffer like she deserves. It'll be one less of their kind to worry about."
Ivan flared with hope. He quickly ducked in and out of the crowds, desperately searching for that prison. He found a dilapidated old building nestled away in the back streets of town. This had to be it--it didn't have any windows and two very strong-looking men were standing by the door. What else could this be but a prison?
Cautiously, he crept closer to the structure, avoiding the sight of the guards. How could he get inside without them noticing? Needing some kind of distraction, he picked up a rock and tossed it into some bushes in the other direction. One of the guards snapped to attention and went to investigate the source of the noise, while the other watched him from his post. Quick as a flash, Ivan ran for the door and got inside the building unseen.
Whew! he said to himself. That was close! He took a moment to catch his breath and then set about finding Mia. He silently proceeded down the main corridor looking for some sign of life. All of the cell doors were open, revealing empty spaces. It appeared that no one had been incarcerated here for quite some time, although the foul stench of death still hung in the air. Even with full daylight coming from the door, the place was quite gloomy and he felt a distinct chill in the air. Part of him wished that he wouldn't find anything here. He didn't even want to imagine Mia being trapped in such an awful place.
Something suddenly tingled the back of his mind. It was the presence of another life form. He followed the sensation to the very last cell in the prison, where the heavy iron door was tightly shut. He cast Mind Read to get a closer look and was immediately hit with a bullet of sorrow and loneliness, an anguish so immense and painful that he fell to his knees in front of the door. There was no doubt now--it had to be her.
"Mia?" he whispered. "Is that you in there?"
He heard something stir on the other side of the door. "Who's there?" a weak and timid voice asked.
"Mia, it's me--Ivan."
"Ivan?!" she gasped in complete disbelief. She crawled to the door. "Is that really you?"
"Yes!" Ivan whispered, trying to control his excitement. She was alive! She was really and truly alive!
Mia tried to hold back her tears of joy. "I don't believe it!" She coughed a few times. "Oh, Ivan, thank Mercury it's you! I didn't think anyone would ever find me!"
"I know, I know!" He lowered his voice before the guards overheard them. "Are you all right?"
She drew in her sniffles and coughed again. "As well as can be expected. Please, Ivan, you have to get me out of here! I'm scared!"
"Stay calm," Ivan said. "It'll be OK, Mia. The others are waiting for me outside of the village. Now that I know exactly where you are, we can formulate a plan to free you. We'll get you out of there, I promise."
"Thank you," said Mia. "Tell me, is Isaac OK? I miss him so much!"
"He misses you too. He's been so worried! He'll be relieved just to know you're all right!"
Mia felt a surge of pure joy rush through her. He was alive and only a short distance away! They'd be together again soon! It felt like a dream. She broke down into happy sobs, but that raspy cough kept interrupting her. Ivan didn't like the sound of it at all.
"What have they done to you?" he asked. "You sound terrible."
"I'm all right," she said. "It's just from the cold and dampness of this cell, that's all." She cleared her throat to make her voice a little stronger. "Go on, Ivan. The sooner you leave, the sooner I can get out of here."
"Right," Ivan said, rising. "Don't worry, Mia. You'll be free before you know it."
"I can't thank you enough. I'm so happy you found me! I feared that I'd never see any of you ever again." She heard him start to leave. "Ivan?"
"Yes?"
"C-can you tell Isaac something for me?"
"Of course. What is it?"
She couldn't find the right words. How do you explain what it was like to miss someone so much that it felt like your very life essence had been sucked away? "Just tell him that I never lost faith in him, and that I love him. That's all."
Ivan smiled. "All right. I'll make sure he gets the message. And I swear that you'll see him yourself very, very soon."
Mia listened to him sneak away and then huddled back up in the corner of her cell where it was slightly warmer. Her whole body felt numb from the cold, but at least now she had a real hope to hang onto. She smiled as she thought of being reunited with Isaac. All she had to do was hang on until then.
Using the same technique that got him inside, Ivan exited the prison and swiftly left Tartarus to rejoin his friends. Though Mia had tried to hide it, he'd been able to sense that something was dreadfully wrong with her, and he knew that this rescue mission couldn't be delayed much longer.
"The prison is located here," Ivan said, adding to the diagram he was sketching in the dirt. "It had two guards by the door, and there aren't any windows or other entrances. Mia's cell is in the very back of the building."
The others studied his map of Tartarus. "How are we going to get her out of there without starting some sort of war?" Sheba asked. "As strong as we are, there's no way we can take on everyone in that village."
"Sneaking past the guards wasn't difficult," said Ivan. "But I was really careful to keep quiet so that they wouldn't hear me when I was in there."
"And breaking down doors can't be done quietly," Garet said. "I know--I've tried."
"It's too bad that we had to use that Cloak Ball of yours to camouflage the ship," said Jenna. "That would make this task much easier."
"We could still go back and get it," Garet suggested. "And one of us could stay behind to guard the ship instead."
"That would take too long," Ivan said. "The ship's almost a day's journey from here, and we don't have the luxury of delaying this mission for that long."
"How so?" Garet asked. "Mia would understand if we made her wait a little longer."
Ivan shook his head. "It's not that."
"Then what is it?" Sheba questioned. "I thought you said she was all right."
"I said she was alive and coherent," Ivan corrected. He didn't really want to say what had him so concerned if he could avoid it.
"What's wrong, Ivan?" Isaac asked. "There's more to this than you're saying."
Ivan sighed. "Well, maybe I'm just overreacting, but I don't think Mia's in very good health or spirits. They made her heal everyone in the village, and I have a feeling that her jailers didn't give her the adequate means to recover her strength. She tried to hide it, but she has a nasty sounding cough, and she probably lacks the power to cure it. We shouldn't delay in getting her out of there any longer than we have to."
"Can this get any worse?" Sheba implored.
Isaac thought a moment, trying to goad the strategic portion of his mind into action. He emptied out his pockets to see exactly what items he had--the Black Orb from the ship, the Mars Star, the Cleric's Ring, two Antidote plants, the Carry Stone, and a Psy Crystal. Was this really it? Jeez, he was usually prepared for anything!
"Empty your pockets, everyone," he said. "Let's see what we have to work with."
A small collection of items piled up on the ground as everyone sifted through their belongings. "Two Smoke Bombs, the Orb of Force, the Halt Gem, a Weasel's Claw, a Sacred Feather and a Sleep Ring," said Ivan.
"A War Ring, the Lifting Gem and Catch Beads, three Sleep Bombs, and two Oil Drops," Garet said.
"Five Herbs, two Elixirs, and a Bramble Seed," said Jenna.
"Two Crystal Powders, an Elixir, a Unicorn Ring, and an Herb," said Sheba. "This isn't much of a collection."
"How come you guys don't have any healing items?" Jenna asked.
"Because Mia always carried those things," Ivan replied. "She was the expert, so we left her in charge of them."
"Seemed like a good idea at the time," Garet added. "Now what?"
Isaac studied their belongings. The Psynergy items were useless in this situation, as were the rings and the scant healing items. But the attack items, particularly the Crystal Powder, might be useful, and Smoke and Sleep Bombs were good delay tactics--assuming they worked. Throw in the Psy Crystal for a safety net, and he just might pull this off. He collected those items and stuffed them into his pockets.
"Does our leader have an idea now?" Sheba asked.
"Yes, I do, and it's going to require complete cooperation from the four of you."
"We're all ears," said Ivan.
"All right, then," Isaac said. He handed the Black Orb and the Mars Star to Garet. "Take these and go back to the ship--all of you. Mia and I will meet you there."
"What?!" the others cried.
"No way!" said Garet. "You're not going to attempt this crazy mission by yourself! It's suicide!"
"We're not letting you do this alone," Ivan added. "We're a team and we have to stick together."
"I had a feeling that you'd say that," said Isaac. "But you have to trust me. This is for the best. There's no sense in all of us risking our lives when we still have a quest to pursue. This way, if I don't make it back, you guys will be around to stop Felix."
"But why does it have to be you?" Jenna asked. "Let me do it, since I caused this whole mess in the first place."
Isaac shook his head. "No. This is something I have to do." He looked over at Tartarus. "I'll go as soon as it gets dark. You guys head back to the ship and wait. If I'm not back by sunset tomorrow, go without me."
Garet, stubborn as ever, fumed. "Forget it. I'm not leaving you here to do this alone. If something goes wrong, those creeps with burn you to a crisp!"
"Please, Garet, don't make me argue with you," Isaac said. He smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'm pretty tough in my own right, you know."
"That's not what I'm saying," said Garet. "It's just that…well…" For once, he didn't have anything to say, but Isaac understood none the less. In spite of all his faults, Garet was a true loyal friend in every way.
"I understand," said Isaac.
"Then why do you insist on doing this?" Garet asked.
"Because I want to be with Mia," Isaac replied quietly. "If I go alone, I won't have to worry about Felix and the Lighthouses and I can focus on rescuing her. And no matter how this mission goes, I know that I'll be with her. That's all."
His friends sighed. They couldn't argue with that. Garet laughed slightly. "You're hopeless, you know that?"
Isaac nodded, smiling. "I'm proud of it too. Perhaps one day, the rest of you will be as hopeless. Now go on! I'll do my best to come back to you--with Mia."
Reluctantly, Garet, Ivan, Jenna and Sheba turned and headed back through the woods to the ship. Jenna paused to take one last look at Isaac, but he was gazing out at Tartarus and didn't see her. One way or the other, it would all be over after tonight.
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*I can't stand the suspense!* Next chapter: the rescue!