"Ivan! We need support over here!" Garet shouted, still fighting off
centaur in front of the town. Ivan quickly responded, and the gusts of
Whirlwind tore through Garet's aggressor, but he still was on his feet. He
glanced over to his other comrades; Triad was on his way, sword drawn,
Felix had his hands full, and Jenna was panting heavily from the overuse of
her Psynergy. It wasn't looking good when Isaac took off for the town
alone; Garet's pursuit was cut off by the remainder of the army. So he was
forced to fight on with the army rather than support his friend. Garet had
heard sounds of battle in the town, and he swore he saw the Angel of
Judgement flying high over the village not moments before. He had to get
inside the village, but how?! His attention, distracted from the enemy
he dueled with was about to cost him dearly. Garet saw the blade of the
enemy centaur about to bear down on his head, and he braced for its impact.
He could hear the clashing of metal inches from his face, but no sword
struck. He opened his eyes to see why he hadn't been killed; he saw the
blade of a knight, clad in silver and golden armor with a full helm; the
helm had wings on the back of the head. The knight parried the centaur's
blade away, then ran it through.
"Best not to let your guard down, warrior. Isaac will be fine." The knight told Garet. "Focus on this battle, warrior." The knight swung his sword behind him laterally, slaying a creature that approached from behind. The warrior in armor and Garet ran to assist Felix, whom still had his hands full fighting six of the beasts at once. Garet leapt into the melee, slaying a beast with a Sonic Smash. The knight leapt in and with a bout of fancy swordplay, knocked the weapons away from two centaurs in less than a second and slaying them both in the next. Felix, with three of the creatures off his back, dodged under an incoming sword swipe, cut off the offender's arm, and then jabbed his blade into the chest of another, slashing out and cutting off the final centaur's left front leg. Felix took his blade and finished off the disarmed centaur, while the knight finished the legged one. Each of the fighters scanned the battlefield for new threats; all of the centaur were now dead, laying completely unburied and decomposing in the crimson snow. The smell of death and decay was slowly starting to rise in the fields around Imil, and Garet wished to throw up right then.
"Let's go find Isaac." Felix stated, coldly. "What's your name, knight?"
"Dargon."
"Thanks for your help, Dargon. Let's go find Isaac now." Felix replied, making for the town walls. "Ivan, Jenna, Triad, move it!" Ivan and Jenna nodded, following close on the heels of the melee fighters. Triad didn't nod, but he moved to catch up; he was farthest behind most of the way.
"Where should we start looking?!" Triad shouted up to them.
"The town square; I saw something flying above it, and if I'm right, Isaac will be there." Dargon returned. The group quickly tailed Felix, who was furthest ahead. The elder brother of Jenna kept a low profile while he ran, boosting his speed, greater than even Ivan could keep up with. He shot around the corners of the inner part of the town, dusting Garet and the others behind him. Finally, Felix passed around a bend and into the town square. Something major had gone on here; most of the buildings had damage and there were traces of blood here and there. He looked to the north end of the square, where he saw two figures wrapped up together, obviously mourning the loss of something.
Felix studied the picture for a moment, then realized what was going on. The two mourners were Isaac, no doubt about that, and the second was a familiar looking girl; Felix knew he'd seen her before. He stopped to think for a few seconds. Her name was Mia; and if his memory served him correctly, she was the healer from the village. Felix eyed the ground near them, and could see the remains of what appeared to be children. Felix's expression hardened, even more so than usual, and he turned back down the route he'd taken, where he encountered the rest of the party moments later.
"Did you find him, Felix?" Garet asked.
"Yes."
"Well, where is he?!" Jenna demanded.
"He's in the town square, just as Dargon had said."
"Well, let's go see him!" Garet exclaimed, moving down the path until he was blockaded by Felix's right arm.
"You won't go see him."
"Why?!"
"Trust me on this, Garet. Isaac needs to be alone right now; he's in mourning. He's lost something important to him."
"God, I hope it wasn't Mia. . ." Dargon muttered under his breath, audible to none, save for Felix.
"It wasn't. There was something else that he lost, so just give him time. He'll come to us when he's ready to speak." Felix replied, folding his arms behind him and pushing past the group. "Let's go to the inn and get some rest; we've all had a tough day."
"Triad, where's your invention?" Ivan asked
"The mortar? I stuffed it back into the bag. I told you that thing would come in handy! Lobbing explosive projectiles with out the use of a catapult; it was brilliant!"
"I'll admit, you did some pretty hefty damage to the centaur lines when you blasted them with it, but it wasn't perfect." Garet replied.
"Hey, I'd like to see you do better without your powers, Garet!" Triad snapped back. "I just have one power: my brain, and I used it! Well, at least it wasn't a big fiasco like that musical instrument I tried inventing."
"Thank goodness; I still have nightmares thinking about it. . ." Jenna returned, remembering the incident. Triad had been trying to invent a new woodwind instrument, and he thought he had perfected it while they were on their way to Imil. One night, gathered around the campfire, Triad whipped out the instrument and stated he was going to play it. He had said if his calculations had been correct, he should have a beautiful sounding instrument that could span the entire scale of notes on each octave. They had been excited at the prospect of having some entertainment, so Triad sought to please. Too bad for them the instrument was completely flawed. As Triad began 'playing' it, all he managed to get out of it were incredibly loud and piercing squeaks and howls that were frightening even to a banshee. He was pretty embarrassed at his failure and spent hours trying to fix his invention, in vain.
"Say, by any chance did you happen to see a middle-aged man on your way in? Medium height, black hair, green eyes? Goes by the name Edward?" Dargon asked them.
"No, why do you ask?" Felix returned.
"Just curious." Dargon replied. He was concerned and suspicious of Mayor Giles; he was indeed the longbow champ of Imil, but he was nowhere to be seen during the three waves of the siege; or for that matter, anywhere in sight between the sieges. Dargon was curious of where the mayor had been and after Isaac ordered him to leave Imil, he went searching for a few moments before he decided to return back. He was positive that Imil's 'fearless leader' had abdicated his duties to his people. The group of six reached the inn and each left the price of a room in gold pieces on the counter. Each left for their own rooms, though sleeping two to a room. Felix and Jenna bunked in one, Garet and Dargon in another, and Triad and Ivan in the final.
"So, Garet; what brings you to Imil?" Dargon asked.
"Isaac, what else?"
"Well, why is Isaac here?"
"I haven't the vaguest idea why, Dargon. Maybe he believed his destiny delivered him here. Why are you here in Imil?"
"I live here, Garet."
"People can actually stand this cold weather? I knew Mia could, but even she wasn't too fond of the snow if memory serves me correctly. . ."
"Few are fond of the snow up here, but we all can take it." Dargon couldn't help but notice Garet's distracted mentality. He also noted Garet's memory wasn't too great. . . he always heard Mia praising the snow. "What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Garet turned. "Oh, sorry. I'm just worried about Isaac; Felix said he saw him in mourning. I wonder why. . ."
"Now I'm the one who doesn't have the vaguest idea." Dargon lied. Felix had implied Mia was just fine, and there was no one else in Imil Isaac was particularly close to besides Mia and her disciples. Dargon was willing to bet his armor that something had happened to Justin and Megan. As much as he wanted to be there for his new-found friend Isaac and the town's healer, Felix was right. Mia was closer to Isaac than him, so he'd undoubtedly just get in the way or be an unnecessary burden. He frowned, removing his helmet; Imil had been spared from excessive damage, but the casualties and clean-up effort were enormous. On his last guess, he ventured to say 60 archers had perished, and nearly all would've if Mia and Isaac hadn't used their healing powers. Civilian casualties weren't too bad, given the fact most had evacuated. There were less than ten civilian losses; there were a couple of elderly people who passed of shock and sorrow, one man who was unlucky enough to be out in the open when a stray ice bolt struck, one man who was crushed by a man who fell from the wall, and finally and probably saddest of all, Megan and Justin. Though the deaths of the two young Mercury Adepts had yet to be confirmed, Dargon's gut told him they were dead, and his gut had never failed him yet.
"I'll just keep my eyes peeled for him out this window." Garet said.
"Um, Garet, the town square is the other way." Dargon replied. Garet glanced out the window, back at Dargon, and back out the window again.
"Yeah, I knew that." Garet returned, sheepishly.
***********************
"So, you foresaw this the whole time, Ivan?" Triad turned.
"Yes. I saw every detail of the actual attack in my dreams; that's how I knew which way to come. I just wish we had gotten here a day earlier. We might've saved more lives."
"Don't blame yourself, Ivan. We did the best we could; and if anyone should take responsibility for slowing us down, it's me. I just wish I was as well traveled as the rest of you."
"You did well, Triad. Don't dispute your ability; perhaps we were destined to arrive when we did. Destiny is a fickle and cruel thing; Isaac has undoubtedly figured that out now."
"Well, at least Imil is relatively in one piece, and Isaac is okay."
"I wouldn't put money on that, Triad; his past and present torment him. I doubt he's seen the last of his troubles right now. I wouldn't wish his possible fate on any man."
"What are you talking about?! Possible fate?!"
"Nothing. Forget I mentioned it." Ivan said, calmly. "Triad, what brings you out on adventure?"
"Well, I'm seeking knowledge and enlightenment. I wish to learn everything I can about the world and the people in it. Then I want to use that knowledge to benefit mankind; to use my inventions for the common good."
"Quite noble, Triad; I'd never pictured you as one who wished enlightenment. You just seem so. . ."
"Spontaneous? Energetic?"
"Forgive me for being blunt, but I can think of no better way to state this: idiotic."
"Don't be sorry, Ivan; I get that a lot. Especially from Jenna; good lord, she likes to point out mistakes, doesn't she?"
"It's her nature, Triad; it's her way of trusting you. She does the same things to Garet, Isaac, and even myself and Felix. I believe she seeks only to better people; make them learn from their errors and become better people because of it."
"If that's the case, she's certainly working Garet into the ground, isn't she?" Triad joked. Ivan smiled as he replied.
"Yes, she certainly is. It's a labor of love, I'd say."
"You think so too, huh?"
"Indeed I do." Ivan chuckled.
***********************
Mia's head laid on Isaac's shoulder, where she soaked his clothes with tears. Isaac said nothing while cradling her body against his. Isaac was shocked by this atrocity, though not nearly as much as the Mercury Adept he was attempting to console. It had been several minutes after Judgement had departed, but he was ready to wait all night if he had to.
"Isaac, why did it have to be them?" Mia sobbed out.
"I don't know; but it's my fault they're gone! If I had finished him off a few seconds earlier. . ."
"Isaac, you did everything you could, and you know it." Mia managed to say.
"Mia, I just. . . know I could've done something."
"It's not your fault." She said, beginning to pull herself together. "You've killed the person responsible, and that's final." Mia stated, looking up with tear-worn eyes. Isaac said nothing, his way of trying to understand. Mia began to stand, but Isaac was up on his feet in a flash, helping her the rest of the way.
"What do we do now?" Isaac asked.
"Let's take them to the graveyard; they'll be buried soon with the other people who died during the fighting." Mia said, picking up the body of Megan, tears still lightly flowing from her eyes. Isaac nodded solemnly and picked up what remained of Justin. The two walked slowly and wordlessly together to the graveyard on the outskirts of town. The graveyard was relatively small, but the patch would be twice as large after the dead were buried. The rows of dead from the second wave were lying face up near a mausoleum. The yard was eerily quiet, even for a graveyard. Patches of fog dotted between the graves, of which were about seventy in count. A large mausoleum stood in the center of the graveyard, where Isaac and Mia were heading. They passed by rows of the dead, and Isaac peered down at each one. Among them, he saw the man Mia had been trying to save the day before; the loss of blood must've been the end of him. Next, the female archer Isaac tried to save on the same day lie face up next to the other man. After laying Megan and Justin at the end of the row of bodies, Isaac turned to Mia.
"What happened to these two? I thought we saved them." Isaac said, pointing out the two they had helped.
"The man died of loss of blood; something I did my best to prevent, but I couldn't stop it. The girl was his fiancée, who died of a broken heart."
"No. . ."
"I'm afraid so, Isaac. So are the ways of war, I'm afraid. That's why we Imilians are peaceful people; the sight of death is heartbreaking enough, but when the person is a loved one it becomes unbearable." Mia's eyes started welling up again, obviously about Megan and Justin. Isaac laid a hand on Mia's shoulder, and looked her in the eye.
"Even though what you said was true, do you think THEY would want you to be like this? Megan would want you to smile and remember the good times with her and not the fact that she's gone. Justin would be contented for you to just move forward with your life. I know what it's like to lose someone that close, Mia. Though, if it still hurts, you can always talk to me, or, if you don't want to talk to me, speak with Jenna. She certainly knows what the pain is like." Isaac reassuringly explained. "Come on. Let's go find the others." Mia nodded in response, her continence relaxing.
"Of course, Isaac, you're right." Mia managed to summon a smile. The two slowly left the graveyard, and back down the cobblestone streets. Not a word was spoken between the two, and the only sound that could be heard for miles around was the soft crunching of the falling snow. They made the turn for the inn, and outside, Isaac saw Triad, in fencing pose, back turned to him. Triad had an odd-looking sword in his hand. It was a long sword, but it wasn't made of metal; it was translucent blue along the edges, and the core of the sword was a translucent red. Isaac figured the sword was made of crystal rather than metal. Triad swung his blade in several different fashions, but Isaac caught a mistake in every swing; granted, Isaac thought, that he himself was an excellent swordsman, and Triad looked like he was only doing it as a hobby. Triad suddenly sheathed his sword and turned around.
"Isaac, long time no see."
"Triad, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying in Vault for awhile!"
"Well, I heard Garet and the others were out looking for you, so I thought I'd tag along and help out."
"Well, where were you during the battle with the centaur?"
"Did you happen to see the flare-like rocket that flew into the ranks?"
"Sort of." Isaac responded, remembering his attention had been focused elsewhere at the time. "I think so, at least."
"Well, that was a shot from my latest invention: The Mortar. Think of it as a catapult that is portable and shoots explosives rather than boulders."
"So, where's that 'flying' machine you were working on?"
"I'm still working out the bugs."
"What are you two talking about?" Mia asked, curious about the flying machine; she'd never heard of anything like it.
"I'll tell you some other time, miss." Triad replied. "By the way, I don't think I know your name."
"I'm Mia. It's a pleasure to meet you Triad."
"Nice to meet you; I remember your name now that you mention it. I thought I heard Garet or Ivan mention your name once or twice along the way. Let's go inside; the others are waiting for you." Triad said, holding open the door of the inn so his friends could pass. Isaac allowed Mia to enter first, and he followed her, with Triad behind him.
"Hey guys, the guests of the hour have finally shown up." Triad called up the stairwell. A sudden barrage of footsteps sounded as Garet charged down the wooden stairs like a herd of cows in a stampede.
"Isaac!" Garet shouted as be bounded down the stairs.
"Garet!" Isaac returned, as his big friend nearly tackled him in excitement. "Good to see you, bro!"
"Same to you, you stiff." Garet said, pushing Isaac's head sideways in a gesture of friendship.
"It's been awhile, old friend." Ivan said, walking down the stairs quietly. "I'm glad the fates chose for our paths to meet again, though I wish in better times."
"Indeed, Ivan." Isaac replied, shaking his friend's hand.
"Well now, why haven't you said hello to me yet?" A female voice remarked, jokingly coming down the stairs. Jenna descended to the ground with a smile on her face.
"Jenna, it's nice to see you too." Isaac said, Jenna pulling him into a friendly hug.
"Don't you run off on us again, Isaac!" Jenna said, after letting him go.
"I won't, I promise." He returned.
"Good; Jenna was worried sick about you." Felix said, entering the area. "Garet was the same way."
"What about you, brother?!" Jenna retorted.
"Nah." Felix said, with a short smile. Isaac smiled too; Felix rarely joked around, and when he did, it usually wasn't so blatant.
"Well, someone's being sarcastic or my name isn't Dargon." Dargon said, coming down the wooden stairs, out of his armor for the first time all day.
"Hey, I told you to leave with the townsfolk!"
"And I did. But you didn't say NOT to come back. By the way, the townsfolk should be back soon."
"How? No one's sent a message to them, right?" Mia inquired.
"I sent my raven, Dante, out with a message for them to return. Dante will get the job done; you know how smart he is, Mia." Mia smiled, but turned back to him.
"Dargon, why are you staying at the inn?"
"Well, that boulder that put the hole in the wall kind of crushed my house. Try explaining that to the building inspector." Dargon said, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, I'm glad to see everyone's okay; sorry we took so long getting here, Isaac." Garet turned.
"If Felix had been leading the party, we would've been here days ago, Garet!" Jenna mumbled.
"Hey! I did the best I could!"
"That's why Isaac was the leader when we were a group!"
"You two, that's enough!" Isaac shouted; Garet and Jenna instantly spun to face Isaac, stunned at his outburst. "You're acting too much like you always do!" Isaac smiled.
"She started it!" Garet pointed out.
"No, I didn't! You did!" She replied, and the two began arguing again. Isaac rolled his eyes, and turned to Triad.
"So, I'm assuming you're the one who told them I was coming this way?"
"Red-handed, Isaac." Triad replied, smiling nervously. "So, you're not going to skewer me with your sword, are you?"
"No, I'll just leave Flint alone with you for a night." Isaac jeered. Garet jumped at his comment.
"No! You wouldn't be so cruel!" The conversations continued on until nightfall, where each of the weary warriors finally took a well-deserved rest. Unbeknownst to them, fate had much more in store for them than just one mere battle at the gates of Imil. . .
**************************
Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the cliffhangers. It's just I don't know any better way to leave off. Try not to flash fry me this time. You can thank Midnight C for teaching me this fine art. (Midnight C glares at Triad Orion.) Uh oh. . . looks like trouble is heading this way. See ya!
"Best not to let your guard down, warrior. Isaac will be fine." The knight told Garet. "Focus on this battle, warrior." The knight swung his sword behind him laterally, slaying a creature that approached from behind. The warrior in armor and Garet ran to assist Felix, whom still had his hands full fighting six of the beasts at once. Garet leapt into the melee, slaying a beast with a Sonic Smash. The knight leapt in and with a bout of fancy swordplay, knocked the weapons away from two centaurs in less than a second and slaying them both in the next. Felix, with three of the creatures off his back, dodged under an incoming sword swipe, cut off the offender's arm, and then jabbed his blade into the chest of another, slashing out and cutting off the final centaur's left front leg. Felix took his blade and finished off the disarmed centaur, while the knight finished the legged one. Each of the fighters scanned the battlefield for new threats; all of the centaur were now dead, laying completely unburied and decomposing in the crimson snow. The smell of death and decay was slowly starting to rise in the fields around Imil, and Garet wished to throw up right then.
"Let's go find Isaac." Felix stated, coldly. "What's your name, knight?"
"Dargon."
"Thanks for your help, Dargon. Let's go find Isaac now." Felix replied, making for the town walls. "Ivan, Jenna, Triad, move it!" Ivan and Jenna nodded, following close on the heels of the melee fighters. Triad didn't nod, but he moved to catch up; he was farthest behind most of the way.
"Where should we start looking?!" Triad shouted up to them.
"The town square; I saw something flying above it, and if I'm right, Isaac will be there." Dargon returned. The group quickly tailed Felix, who was furthest ahead. The elder brother of Jenna kept a low profile while he ran, boosting his speed, greater than even Ivan could keep up with. He shot around the corners of the inner part of the town, dusting Garet and the others behind him. Finally, Felix passed around a bend and into the town square. Something major had gone on here; most of the buildings had damage and there were traces of blood here and there. He looked to the north end of the square, where he saw two figures wrapped up together, obviously mourning the loss of something.
Felix studied the picture for a moment, then realized what was going on. The two mourners were Isaac, no doubt about that, and the second was a familiar looking girl; Felix knew he'd seen her before. He stopped to think for a few seconds. Her name was Mia; and if his memory served him correctly, she was the healer from the village. Felix eyed the ground near them, and could see the remains of what appeared to be children. Felix's expression hardened, even more so than usual, and he turned back down the route he'd taken, where he encountered the rest of the party moments later.
"Did you find him, Felix?" Garet asked.
"Yes."
"Well, where is he?!" Jenna demanded.
"He's in the town square, just as Dargon had said."
"Well, let's go see him!" Garet exclaimed, moving down the path until he was blockaded by Felix's right arm.
"You won't go see him."
"Why?!"
"Trust me on this, Garet. Isaac needs to be alone right now; he's in mourning. He's lost something important to him."
"God, I hope it wasn't Mia. . ." Dargon muttered under his breath, audible to none, save for Felix.
"It wasn't. There was something else that he lost, so just give him time. He'll come to us when he's ready to speak." Felix replied, folding his arms behind him and pushing past the group. "Let's go to the inn and get some rest; we've all had a tough day."
"Triad, where's your invention?" Ivan asked
"The mortar? I stuffed it back into the bag. I told you that thing would come in handy! Lobbing explosive projectiles with out the use of a catapult; it was brilliant!"
"I'll admit, you did some pretty hefty damage to the centaur lines when you blasted them with it, but it wasn't perfect." Garet replied.
"Hey, I'd like to see you do better without your powers, Garet!" Triad snapped back. "I just have one power: my brain, and I used it! Well, at least it wasn't a big fiasco like that musical instrument I tried inventing."
"Thank goodness; I still have nightmares thinking about it. . ." Jenna returned, remembering the incident. Triad had been trying to invent a new woodwind instrument, and he thought he had perfected it while they were on their way to Imil. One night, gathered around the campfire, Triad whipped out the instrument and stated he was going to play it. He had said if his calculations had been correct, he should have a beautiful sounding instrument that could span the entire scale of notes on each octave. They had been excited at the prospect of having some entertainment, so Triad sought to please. Too bad for them the instrument was completely flawed. As Triad began 'playing' it, all he managed to get out of it were incredibly loud and piercing squeaks and howls that were frightening even to a banshee. He was pretty embarrassed at his failure and spent hours trying to fix his invention, in vain.
"Say, by any chance did you happen to see a middle-aged man on your way in? Medium height, black hair, green eyes? Goes by the name Edward?" Dargon asked them.
"No, why do you ask?" Felix returned.
"Just curious." Dargon replied. He was concerned and suspicious of Mayor Giles; he was indeed the longbow champ of Imil, but he was nowhere to be seen during the three waves of the siege; or for that matter, anywhere in sight between the sieges. Dargon was curious of where the mayor had been and after Isaac ordered him to leave Imil, he went searching for a few moments before he decided to return back. He was positive that Imil's 'fearless leader' had abdicated his duties to his people. The group of six reached the inn and each left the price of a room in gold pieces on the counter. Each left for their own rooms, though sleeping two to a room. Felix and Jenna bunked in one, Garet and Dargon in another, and Triad and Ivan in the final.
"So, Garet; what brings you to Imil?" Dargon asked.
"Isaac, what else?"
"Well, why is Isaac here?"
"I haven't the vaguest idea why, Dargon. Maybe he believed his destiny delivered him here. Why are you here in Imil?"
"I live here, Garet."
"People can actually stand this cold weather? I knew Mia could, but even she wasn't too fond of the snow if memory serves me correctly. . ."
"Few are fond of the snow up here, but we all can take it." Dargon couldn't help but notice Garet's distracted mentality. He also noted Garet's memory wasn't too great. . . he always heard Mia praising the snow. "What's wrong?"
"Huh?" Garet turned. "Oh, sorry. I'm just worried about Isaac; Felix said he saw him in mourning. I wonder why. . ."
"Now I'm the one who doesn't have the vaguest idea." Dargon lied. Felix had implied Mia was just fine, and there was no one else in Imil Isaac was particularly close to besides Mia and her disciples. Dargon was willing to bet his armor that something had happened to Justin and Megan. As much as he wanted to be there for his new-found friend Isaac and the town's healer, Felix was right. Mia was closer to Isaac than him, so he'd undoubtedly just get in the way or be an unnecessary burden. He frowned, removing his helmet; Imil had been spared from excessive damage, but the casualties and clean-up effort were enormous. On his last guess, he ventured to say 60 archers had perished, and nearly all would've if Mia and Isaac hadn't used their healing powers. Civilian casualties weren't too bad, given the fact most had evacuated. There were less than ten civilian losses; there were a couple of elderly people who passed of shock and sorrow, one man who was unlucky enough to be out in the open when a stray ice bolt struck, one man who was crushed by a man who fell from the wall, and finally and probably saddest of all, Megan and Justin. Though the deaths of the two young Mercury Adepts had yet to be confirmed, Dargon's gut told him they were dead, and his gut had never failed him yet.
"I'll just keep my eyes peeled for him out this window." Garet said.
"Um, Garet, the town square is the other way." Dargon replied. Garet glanced out the window, back at Dargon, and back out the window again.
"Yeah, I knew that." Garet returned, sheepishly.
***********************
"So, you foresaw this the whole time, Ivan?" Triad turned.
"Yes. I saw every detail of the actual attack in my dreams; that's how I knew which way to come. I just wish we had gotten here a day earlier. We might've saved more lives."
"Don't blame yourself, Ivan. We did the best we could; and if anyone should take responsibility for slowing us down, it's me. I just wish I was as well traveled as the rest of you."
"You did well, Triad. Don't dispute your ability; perhaps we were destined to arrive when we did. Destiny is a fickle and cruel thing; Isaac has undoubtedly figured that out now."
"Well, at least Imil is relatively in one piece, and Isaac is okay."
"I wouldn't put money on that, Triad; his past and present torment him. I doubt he's seen the last of his troubles right now. I wouldn't wish his possible fate on any man."
"What are you talking about?! Possible fate?!"
"Nothing. Forget I mentioned it." Ivan said, calmly. "Triad, what brings you out on adventure?"
"Well, I'm seeking knowledge and enlightenment. I wish to learn everything I can about the world and the people in it. Then I want to use that knowledge to benefit mankind; to use my inventions for the common good."
"Quite noble, Triad; I'd never pictured you as one who wished enlightenment. You just seem so. . ."
"Spontaneous? Energetic?"
"Forgive me for being blunt, but I can think of no better way to state this: idiotic."
"Don't be sorry, Ivan; I get that a lot. Especially from Jenna; good lord, she likes to point out mistakes, doesn't she?"
"It's her nature, Triad; it's her way of trusting you. She does the same things to Garet, Isaac, and even myself and Felix. I believe she seeks only to better people; make them learn from their errors and become better people because of it."
"If that's the case, she's certainly working Garet into the ground, isn't she?" Triad joked. Ivan smiled as he replied.
"Yes, she certainly is. It's a labor of love, I'd say."
"You think so too, huh?"
"Indeed I do." Ivan chuckled.
***********************
Mia's head laid on Isaac's shoulder, where she soaked his clothes with tears. Isaac said nothing while cradling her body against his. Isaac was shocked by this atrocity, though not nearly as much as the Mercury Adept he was attempting to console. It had been several minutes after Judgement had departed, but he was ready to wait all night if he had to.
"Isaac, why did it have to be them?" Mia sobbed out.
"I don't know; but it's my fault they're gone! If I had finished him off a few seconds earlier. . ."
"Isaac, you did everything you could, and you know it." Mia managed to say.
"Mia, I just. . . know I could've done something."
"It's not your fault." She said, beginning to pull herself together. "You've killed the person responsible, and that's final." Mia stated, looking up with tear-worn eyes. Isaac said nothing, his way of trying to understand. Mia began to stand, but Isaac was up on his feet in a flash, helping her the rest of the way.
"What do we do now?" Isaac asked.
"Let's take them to the graveyard; they'll be buried soon with the other people who died during the fighting." Mia said, picking up the body of Megan, tears still lightly flowing from her eyes. Isaac nodded solemnly and picked up what remained of Justin. The two walked slowly and wordlessly together to the graveyard on the outskirts of town. The graveyard was relatively small, but the patch would be twice as large after the dead were buried. The rows of dead from the second wave were lying face up near a mausoleum. The yard was eerily quiet, even for a graveyard. Patches of fog dotted between the graves, of which were about seventy in count. A large mausoleum stood in the center of the graveyard, where Isaac and Mia were heading. They passed by rows of the dead, and Isaac peered down at each one. Among them, he saw the man Mia had been trying to save the day before; the loss of blood must've been the end of him. Next, the female archer Isaac tried to save on the same day lie face up next to the other man. After laying Megan and Justin at the end of the row of bodies, Isaac turned to Mia.
"What happened to these two? I thought we saved them." Isaac said, pointing out the two they had helped.
"The man died of loss of blood; something I did my best to prevent, but I couldn't stop it. The girl was his fiancée, who died of a broken heart."
"No. . ."
"I'm afraid so, Isaac. So are the ways of war, I'm afraid. That's why we Imilians are peaceful people; the sight of death is heartbreaking enough, but when the person is a loved one it becomes unbearable." Mia's eyes started welling up again, obviously about Megan and Justin. Isaac laid a hand on Mia's shoulder, and looked her in the eye.
"Even though what you said was true, do you think THEY would want you to be like this? Megan would want you to smile and remember the good times with her and not the fact that she's gone. Justin would be contented for you to just move forward with your life. I know what it's like to lose someone that close, Mia. Though, if it still hurts, you can always talk to me, or, if you don't want to talk to me, speak with Jenna. She certainly knows what the pain is like." Isaac reassuringly explained. "Come on. Let's go find the others." Mia nodded in response, her continence relaxing.
"Of course, Isaac, you're right." Mia managed to summon a smile. The two slowly left the graveyard, and back down the cobblestone streets. Not a word was spoken between the two, and the only sound that could be heard for miles around was the soft crunching of the falling snow. They made the turn for the inn, and outside, Isaac saw Triad, in fencing pose, back turned to him. Triad had an odd-looking sword in his hand. It was a long sword, but it wasn't made of metal; it was translucent blue along the edges, and the core of the sword was a translucent red. Isaac figured the sword was made of crystal rather than metal. Triad swung his blade in several different fashions, but Isaac caught a mistake in every swing; granted, Isaac thought, that he himself was an excellent swordsman, and Triad looked like he was only doing it as a hobby. Triad suddenly sheathed his sword and turned around.
"Isaac, long time no see."
"Triad, what are you doing here? I thought you were staying in Vault for awhile!"
"Well, I heard Garet and the others were out looking for you, so I thought I'd tag along and help out."
"Well, where were you during the battle with the centaur?"
"Did you happen to see the flare-like rocket that flew into the ranks?"
"Sort of." Isaac responded, remembering his attention had been focused elsewhere at the time. "I think so, at least."
"Well, that was a shot from my latest invention: The Mortar. Think of it as a catapult that is portable and shoots explosives rather than boulders."
"So, where's that 'flying' machine you were working on?"
"I'm still working out the bugs."
"What are you two talking about?" Mia asked, curious about the flying machine; she'd never heard of anything like it.
"I'll tell you some other time, miss." Triad replied. "By the way, I don't think I know your name."
"I'm Mia. It's a pleasure to meet you Triad."
"Nice to meet you; I remember your name now that you mention it. I thought I heard Garet or Ivan mention your name once or twice along the way. Let's go inside; the others are waiting for you." Triad said, holding open the door of the inn so his friends could pass. Isaac allowed Mia to enter first, and he followed her, with Triad behind him.
"Hey guys, the guests of the hour have finally shown up." Triad called up the stairwell. A sudden barrage of footsteps sounded as Garet charged down the wooden stairs like a herd of cows in a stampede.
"Isaac!" Garet shouted as be bounded down the stairs.
"Garet!" Isaac returned, as his big friend nearly tackled him in excitement. "Good to see you, bro!"
"Same to you, you stiff." Garet said, pushing Isaac's head sideways in a gesture of friendship.
"It's been awhile, old friend." Ivan said, walking down the stairs quietly. "I'm glad the fates chose for our paths to meet again, though I wish in better times."
"Indeed, Ivan." Isaac replied, shaking his friend's hand.
"Well now, why haven't you said hello to me yet?" A female voice remarked, jokingly coming down the stairs. Jenna descended to the ground with a smile on her face.
"Jenna, it's nice to see you too." Isaac said, Jenna pulling him into a friendly hug.
"Don't you run off on us again, Isaac!" Jenna said, after letting him go.
"I won't, I promise." He returned.
"Good; Jenna was worried sick about you." Felix said, entering the area. "Garet was the same way."
"What about you, brother?!" Jenna retorted.
"Nah." Felix said, with a short smile. Isaac smiled too; Felix rarely joked around, and when he did, it usually wasn't so blatant.
"Well, someone's being sarcastic or my name isn't Dargon." Dargon said, coming down the wooden stairs, out of his armor for the first time all day.
"Hey, I told you to leave with the townsfolk!"
"And I did. But you didn't say NOT to come back. By the way, the townsfolk should be back soon."
"How? No one's sent a message to them, right?" Mia inquired.
"I sent my raven, Dante, out with a message for them to return. Dante will get the job done; you know how smart he is, Mia." Mia smiled, but turned back to him.
"Dargon, why are you staying at the inn?"
"Well, that boulder that put the hole in the wall kind of crushed my house. Try explaining that to the building inspector." Dargon said, scratching the back of his head.
"Well, I'm glad to see everyone's okay; sorry we took so long getting here, Isaac." Garet turned.
"If Felix had been leading the party, we would've been here days ago, Garet!" Jenna mumbled.
"Hey! I did the best I could!"
"That's why Isaac was the leader when we were a group!"
"You two, that's enough!" Isaac shouted; Garet and Jenna instantly spun to face Isaac, stunned at his outburst. "You're acting too much like you always do!" Isaac smiled.
"She started it!" Garet pointed out.
"No, I didn't! You did!" She replied, and the two began arguing again. Isaac rolled his eyes, and turned to Triad.
"So, I'm assuming you're the one who told them I was coming this way?"
"Red-handed, Isaac." Triad replied, smiling nervously. "So, you're not going to skewer me with your sword, are you?"
"No, I'll just leave Flint alone with you for a night." Isaac jeered. Garet jumped at his comment.
"No! You wouldn't be so cruel!" The conversations continued on until nightfall, where each of the weary warriors finally took a well-deserved rest. Unbeknownst to them, fate had much more in store for them than just one mere battle at the gates of Imil. . .
**************************
Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the cliffhangers. It's just I don't know any better way to leave off. Try not to flash fry me this time. You can thank Midnight C for teaching me this fine art. (Midnight C glares at Triad Orion.) Uh oh. . . looks like trouble is heading this way. See ya!