Author's note: Woot, finally done! I think this is a pretty good chapter here, so I hope you enjoy. PS, if you want to see pictures of what Miyu and Larva and Ryuko's outfits look like, than e-mail me and ask. They're pretty cool.

Chapter Three

Out of the Frying Pan…

By the time they had neared the city walls of Shigaldi, the flames of the burning structures had blazed so high that it cast their shadows back across the field, long and jet-black. Debris littered the lush grass, some pieces still smoldering, the embers burning sending up thin tendrils of smoke where they lie. At the front gates, the doors had been completely torn off their hinges, the wood splintered horribly and pin-cushioned with arrows and spearheads. There were people flooding from those gates now, all in panic and fear, not understanding the full meaning behind this surprise attack and for what reason the ogres were there.

"This is really bad!" They were just barely able to hear Lemures over the din of screaming civilians and the roar of the fire that raged around them. It was rather difficult to push through the flood of people until they were finally able to regroup near one of the buildings that was still intact, but had still seen better days. Larva was still somewhat surprised how they were able to get back into the city and not accidentally hit someone with the weapons they carried back in, especially since all four of them were fully armed. It was not exactly easy to push through a crowd of people armed with a sword, scythe, bow and arrow; Lemures was the only one with a smaller weapon, and therefore was able to make it through first. They were also dressed in the clothing that they normally battled in. Larva wore a long black trench-coat with a tattered hem, his silver star necklace shining brightly around his neck. Lemures wore a long coat adorned with strands of small silver chains, and Spartoi wore what looked to be very light armor over his clothing. Miyu wore the same clothes she wore earlier that day, except for a hip-guard that was usually worn by archers and her shoulder guards had clear sleeves. She was also wearing some interesting ornaments that Larva had not seen before; a there was a small head ornament on her forehead with thin, curved golden extensions circling a red jewel, and jewelry of similar design between her collar bones and another on her waste. "Why would a vagabond clan of ogres go out of their way to attack the city?"

"Because they were looking for someone, not something." Miyu said. "Look at exactly which buildings have been torn apart. Is anyone else seeing a pattern or is it just me?" Larva looked to each of the building that had been initially gutted and were nearly consumed by flames, but it was still easy to see exactly what they had once been.

Inns. Hotels. All places that could house travelers and those who did not plan to stay long. "This is getting stranger by the moment." Larva commented. "Who do you think they could possibly be looking for?"

"I don't know." Miyu said. "But I have a feeling that there's a deeper motive behind it. I mean, ogres are rather stupid creatures. They usually don't move in distinct patterns like this, and they stay away from larger human populations if they can help it."

"Then that only leaves us with one other option." Lemures spoke. "That they're being driven by something else. But how are we gonna find out who it was they're looking for?"

"It doesn't matter who they're looking for!" Miyu said, her gold eyes flashing eerily in the blaze of the fires around them. "The fact is that they're here, and people are going to get hurt if they're not stopped! We're the only ones who can drive them out quickly and efficiently! So let's go!"

"And guys…" Spartoi finally spoke, mostly to his two foster brothers more than to Miyu. "Watch yourselves, okay?" Lemures nodded confidently. Larva, however, did not. He could already hear the excited growl in the back of his mind, a faint stirring that he pushed back immediately. The Spirit only chuckled, and retreated to the darkest corners of his psyche to watch and wait.

They made their way through the broken and burning streets, picking their way through the smoldering debris, following the trail of destruction deeper and deeper into the heart of Shigaldi. "Uum, something just occurred to me…" Lemures panted just behind Miyu. "What are we going to do exactly when we encounter these things? I mean, we're obviously going to be outnumbered, and if we don't go in with some sort of plan, we're in big trouble."

"I heard ogres are weak against poison attacks, but that's about it." Spartoi's voice sounded even further. "But I think Lemures can Sense. Is that right?"

"Yeah." The other man panted back. "Whoa! Out of the way!" He and Spartoi were just barely able to seize Miyu and Larva by their collars and hauled them backwards, out of the streets and into a dark, adjacent alley. Before the other two could protest for their companion's actions, they shut up themselves as a din of grunting, snarling voices reached their ears, and they pushed back further into the shadows as a pack of close to twenty ogres shuffled past the very opening of their hiding spot. Larva had recognized the weapons of the intruding army, but he himself had never seen an ogre in real-life, and they were exactly as he pictured them to be. They were shorter than the average man, their backs bent over and their shoulders hunched, the light of the fires reflecting off of their tough, leathery skin and their oddly shaped heads. They were covered from head to foot in tough, thick armor, and from what Larva could see, were absolutely armed to the teeth. It was already clear that physical attacks would do little damage against them.

They stayed crouched in the shadows, unmoving, hardly daring to breath, well knowing that if they were discovered hiding in the dark alleyway, they would have little chance of escape, even if it was four of them together. After what seemed like hours, the last ogre shuffled by, and they carefully left their hiding spot, making their way stealthily down the street until they were well out of earshot. "Lemures, did you Sense them?" Larva asked as they huddled under the broken remains of what had been a store overhang.

"Yeah." Lemures nodded. "You're right about the Poison thing, and they're also weak against Ice and Fire. Not that that helps a lot, as we used most of our Ice magic earlier today…" The last part was said in a near-mumble, but then he remembered the situation and added quickly, "Don't waste your strength with physical attacks; their vitality is super-high."

"Well, fat lot of help that does us." Miyu whispered harshly from her spot below them, her face usually pale face eerily illuminated in gold by the firelight. "Even with the four of us combined, a collection of Fire spells and even fewer Poison spells is not going to be enough to drive a whole army of these things out of the city."

"Maybe not," Larva said, "but ogres aren't the smartest creatures in the world, and I read once that they intend to act as a collective group. If we're lucky enough to get a few of them into a panic, than the rest of them will think that they're being countered against, and they'll all clear out." There was a silence in the alleyway, and by the flickering light of the burning city, Larva could see his companions turning the option over in their minds.

"Alright." Lemures said, straightening fully and putting his weapons – hard, bony gauntlets that Miyu did not recognize – onto his hands. "This is the best plan we've got…so let's give it shot." There was a silent, unanimous nod of agreement and, gathering their weapons, took off out of the ally at a near sprint…

And right into another oncoming squad of ogres.

Perhaps the only reason why they were not skewered on the ends of the barbed blades of the spears was that the sheer element of surprise of four humans bursting out of the near-black shadows of an alleyway had happened too quickly for their minds to register it. The tips of their weapons were mere inches away from their faces, and Larva was the first to realize this. Taking a firmer hold on Gravedigger, he slashed at the group of armored creatures with one wide, graceful arch of the deadly curved blade. It grazed the armor of the ogres closest to them, not doing nearly the damage that it could have done to a normal opponent, but it was enough to scatter the ogres and open a path of escape. "Come on!" He snarled to the others, involuntarily grabbing Miyu's wrist and nearly dragging her through that opening with Spartoi and Lemures not too far behind.

"I thought the original plan involved them running from us, not the other way around!" Lemures shouted, and sounded as if he was going to say more, but whatever it was, was cut off by a short, loud yelp, and not more than a second later something clattered at Larva's feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a spear disappearing down the street as they ran, and more began to follow the first in a deadly rain of serrated iron. Then a low, guttural shout, that nearly made him stop in his tracks.

"After them! They're the ones we've been looking for!"

"Us?" Miyu gasped, finally able to wrench her wrist free from Larva's strong grasp. "What can they possible want with us?"

"I don't know, but I sure as hell know that I don't want to find out!" Larva answered, clenching is now free hand into a fist. All he knew was that for whatever reason the ogres could want them, they could not allow themselves to be caught by any means necessary. Reaching into his spirit, he called forth a Fire Spell. Not breaking their sprint, Larva threw his hand out behind him and unleashed the spell onto their pursuers. Orange and red flames burst before the front row of ogres, making them falter and fall back a few steps, but they were soon back on their feet before a second Fire spell exploded among them again. But the Fire spells were doing very little damage, and having to cast while running was difficult and cumbersome, and it was slowing them down as well.

Then something small and glowing green flew through the air, towards the swarm of attackers; a tiny glass jar full of some acidic green liquid. It fell into the middle of the charging ogres, and a cloud of green acrid smoke billowed among the short, stocky bodied. Hacking and choking reached their ears as the ogres collapsed as the Poison working its way into them and, finally, they began to retreat.

After what seemed like hours, they finally slowed and stopped, trying to catch their breaths. "Us?" Spartoi gasped in between heavy breaths. "They were…looking…looking for us? Why?"

"Only one reason…I can…think of." Larva replied, leaning heavily on Gravedigger.

"Are you…suggesting…" Lemures panted. "That those…things…know about us being…" Despite his exhaustion, he still had more sense to speak that one dreaded word allowed. "…being what we are? What can a bunch of stupid…dull-witted ogres want…with us?"

"Damn if I know." Larva said, finally regaining his breath and straightening again. "But I sure as hell don't want to find out. But I'm also sure that they're not here looking for us on their own. Someone else must have sent them to bring us out."

It was the only plausible explanation he could think of; this may have been his first face-to-face encounter with an ogre, but he remembered from his past studies that ogres had been known to be hired in the past – for a very good price, that is – to do the work of those who were afraid to get their hands dirty. And so if there was someone out there who wanted them, although for what was beyond him, of course they were not going to try to take on three Summoners by themselves. "That Poison Powder seemed to work well on them. Spartoi, do you have any others?"

"No." Spartoi said, shaking his head. "That was the only bottle I had."

Larva nearly groaned. "Does anyone have any extra?" Again, he received negative responses from both Miyu and Lemures. "Well, now what?"

"I know what." Miyu said, her eyes suddenly focused hard above Larva's head. "Run!" Without giving him a chance to question her meaning, she drew an arrow, knocked it, and drew the shaft back to her ear before letting it fly. Larva was just barely able to follow its swift path with his eyes before it struck true, impaling an ogre through the breastplate; it fell to the streets with a final dying scream, landing with a sickening thud. It was then that he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that they were surrounded.

"Run!" He repeated to the others, and ran they did, but it was no use; the deformed creatures were suddenly everywhere. On top of the buildings, melting out of the shadows of the alleyways, emerging from the rubble of collapsed buildings…it was as if they were coming out of their very woodworks of the city. They were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in adjacent streets, preventing them from taking another path or from splitting up. They're driving us, Larva thought with a growing feeling of dread. This is exactly what they want. But between the options of stopping and letting the monsters swarm over them, or trying to stay out of their hands as long as possible, it was obvious which option was better to choose.

Perhaps Larva was not giving the ogres as much credit as he should have, because even as they did their best to stay out of harm's way, the attackers definitely had the upper hand as they were driven through the city. Every now and then, however, an ogre would leap at them from the shadows, weapons bared and the spiked blades aimed right for their hearts. But the monsters were built for strength rather than speed, and no matter how stealthy or quick they thought themselves to be, the four whom they were driving just proved to be faster. And arch from the blade of Larva's scythe, or a thrusting blow from Spartoi's broadsword cleared the way quickly. Quick thinking on Miyu's part cleared away anything that might have been blocking their way ahead of them, whether it be ogre or a piece of debris in their path; the forward acceleration of her arrows way enough to knock almost anything out of the road. Lemures' weapon helped out in the long-range too; it was one that Miyu had heard of, but never seen in action. The man had a set of Lashing Gauntlets, a weapon that looked to be a regular pair of gloves with long, thick chain-like tendrils that could be whipped out at his opponents, wrapping around them like snakes and squeezing the very life out of them. Effective, and strong; Miyu could see the chain imprints on the iron armor of the fallen ogres as they ran by.

But still, it was not enough to keep away the hoards of attacking enemies, and they soon realized the horror that they were fast running out of road to run on. Within moments, they found themselves in the city square along with a couple hundred frightened and confused citizens.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Lemures shouted as they came to a screeching halt, echoing Larva's thoughts exactly. Everywhere they looked, he found himself staring into dozens of hard yellow eyes and meeting the ends of barbed spears and swords. Not wanting to make any sudden moves, the four fighters made took cautious steps backwards, backs towards each other, holding their weapons at the ready position but making no move to actually do anything. It did not take a genius to see that they were greatly outnumbered, and only a fool would try to fight them off. The situation looked inevitable.

Dead end. Game over.

"Well… now what?" Lemures asked over his shoulder, not removing his eyes from the scene before them.

"There they are…" Came a guttural growl somewhere to Larva's right, but he dared not turn his head, to break eye contact. One of the ogres was speaking, and hundreds of eyes were suddenly boring into his skull. "The ones we have been sent to seek. Seize them, but they are not to be killed! Do as you will with the other humans." Larva had to fight very hard to not let the fear show through his face as the ogres began to advance, although very slowly like hunters stalking dangerous pray. All around them he could here the citizens of Shigaldi gasping in fear; women moaning, children weeping into their mother's aprons and husbands defenseless to save their families from certain doom.

Rage boiled in Larva's blood. It was going to be pure slaughter, a massacre of the innocent. All these people were going to die because these things were after them and them alone, and yet there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Well…

There was one thing…

He hissed through his teeth as a sudden image flashed through his mind. A burning city, even more horrible and destructive than the damage the ogres had caused on their raid, and a blinding, dazzling flash of gold like the rising sun… And a deep, bellowing laugh, mocking him, but yet… At the same time, beckoning to him, as sweet as the most lulling song… And a promise of a power beyond his wildest dreams…

"Larva!"

Larva awoke with a start, startled out of the lull he had unwittingly fallen into, but he knew exactly what it had been, and he cursed himself violently from the inside. He had nearly given in that time… But he would not give in. Not give in to his wills.

"Where were you? We kind of got a situation on our hands!"

"I'm aware of that!" Larva hissed back at Lemures. "Things are just getting a little…harder to control in certain cases, if you know what I mean." The other man did not respond right away, but rather his face was fixed in an expression that was not frustration, but it was one that Larva knew all too well; he was fighting as well.

Spartoi, however, looked thoughtful, as if he had just realized that the most obvious solution available was staring him straight in the face. "Hey, guys… You said these things are weak against Poison, right?" Larva felt the pit of his stomach drop out of existence; he knew what Spartoi was planning, and the idea made him more nervous than facing off against a million ogres…defenseless!

"Spartoi…You…you wouldn't…"

"It's the best chance we got!" Spartoi shouted back, agitated. "They are weak against Poison, and he's made of the stuff! I would rather risk that than handing myself right over to them!" Larva wanted to say something against it – he even opened up his mouth to do so – but no words would come forth. He knew it was pointless to argue with the bigger man now; he had spent the majority of his life studying the ways of the Knight for years now, and one of the most important lessons was never surrender, to never give into your enemy's demands, even if it meant your own downfall. Honor lost was the greatest shame. He was now upholding that belief, and so trying to talk him out of it would do more harm than good. And besides, what other option did they have? And his foster brother was right. Anything sounded better than going with the ogres.

With a defeated sigh, Larva closed his eyes. "I certainly hope you know what you're doing." Each word felt as if it had a hundred-pound weight attached to it. Spartoi nodded, turned his broadsword over and stuck it into the cobblestone, where it stood erect. Folding his hands over the hilt, it seemed as if he fell into some sudden, deep trance, his eyes rolling back slightly.

Suddenly, all around them, the air began to thicken, weighed down by some incredible force. But it was not a physical feeling, pushing down on their bodies; it was going deeper than their bodies, compressing their very souls... Everyone seemed to notice it, not just the other two Summoners; the people all around began to look around for the source of the disturbance, and even the ogres stopped their stop advance. Within Larva's ears, he heard a call, hearing something that itself was not a sound, but it reverberated inside his head…

Come hither… come forth…

"What's he doing?" Miyu asked, pressing closer to him.

"He's Summoning."

Then the sky began to bleed. It changed from an inky black, the color of night and smoke, to being shot through their rivers of red, as fresh as freshly spilt blood, running and blending together until there was more red than black. The air turned hot and heavy, and sweat from heat rather than anxiety beaded Larva's brow. Then the very air began to shimmer, and before the spot where Spartoi stood, a massive pair of crude wrought-iron doors appeared before a line of buildings, the area around them turned as black as death. The whole town square turned silent, eyes locked on the ghostly gates, the feeling of fear accelerating to great heights, the feeling of foreboding becoming very heavy as people and ogres alike who were the closest to the gates began to slowly back away…

Suddenly a deafening bellow filled their ears, reverberating off the walls of the buildings and making several people clamp their hands to their ears. Most of the ogres began to try to run away, but there were so many of them that they kept tripping over themselves, unable to escape fast enough as not one, but three pairs of glowing yellow eyes appeared from on the other side of the gate's iron bars. There was something very big and very, very angry-looking on the other side, and it was to no surprise when several people screamed, especially when the gates swung open and unleashed the beast within.

And out from the darkness charged a massive, gray and gray three-headed dog, its thick leathery skin glistening in the fire light and its long, thick tail wiping dangerously, clearing out the remains of a building behind it, knocking the debris into the night. With three great, bounding leaps in landed in the middle of the city square, tossing its three heads towards the night sky, its glowing breath steaming, yellow eyes rolling madly and many fangs glimmering in the light of the fire. Several people started screaming, trying to get away from the monster as fast as they could, but the beast made no motion to chase after what probably looked like inviting pray, but rather than attacking those trying to escape, it remained nearly motionless, its tail wiping formidably back and forth. But while people were backing up from around them in fright, Larva and his companions remained motionless, staring at the beast in awe, rendered completely speechless by the sheer power that radiated from its being. The creature looked solid enough, but it itself did not seem to be…truly alive. In fact, if Larva had a chance to put it to words, it did not seem to be really "living", not the way that humans, animals or monsters did. If anything, this thing seemed to be at a higher state of existence all together.

Because it is a Spirit…

"Cerberus." Miyu breathed the single word, finally stepping out from behind Larva, a sense of wonderment in her golden eyes.

"You know his name?" Larva asked quietly, not tearing his eyes away from the Spirit that loomed over them.

"Yes. Ranka required me to learn them all. He is Cerberus, the fourth known Fyte; the Gatekeeper."

Fyte; a term that Larva had only heard a few times before, and one he was surprised that Ranka had not used earlier that day. The formal name of the Spirits, used by scholars, religious figures, and other people with respect towards the higher beings. So, naturally, it was not a term that Larva did not hear very often, but the very word – Fyte – held in itself a sort of power, something that suggested so much more…

Spartoi seemed to be the only one void of any reaction to the Fyte, approaching the giant without any trace of fear, and lay a hand on a heavily muscles shoulder. There was a strange look in his eyes, and Larva saw with a slight shiver that they were glowing in the same light and with the ferocity as in Cerberus' eyes. "Wash the ogres out of here, Cerberus, but don't harm the humans." Spartoi commanded, his voice taking on a strange, hollow tone, as if he was speaking from within a deep canyon. "Triple Pain, now!"

Cerberus responded by tossing his heads again, roaring, his long, thick tail lashing as he clawed at the ground, as if he were throwing some sort of fit. Then he lowered his three heads again, jaws closed, but a sort of acidic-green light was glowing from behind the fangs, growing in luminosity as the triple set of jaws opened again. From within the depths of these massive jaws Larva could see three condensed balls of raw, pure energy that he could feel growing in strength and power within his soul, magic in its purest form…

With wild howl, the Fyte released its attack upon the hoards of ogres; three acidic green rockets that hurtled towards the enemies, plowing into the monsters and taking them out by the dozens, making them writhe and sputter as the Poison spell washed over them. The ones that were not taken out by the attacks made a mad dash to escape the city, their panicked cries and shouts filling their ears, but they were unable to get away fast enough as Cerberus unleashed another wave of Triple Pain attacks on them. All around them people were screaming and falling to the paved ground, covering and protecting themselves from the onslaught of attacks. But after the second wave, things began to come back under control as the remaining ogres, tripping and stumbling over their own fallen, escaped into the night.

Within moments of their departure, Spartoi collapsed to his knees, and Cerberus faded to nothingness, as if her had never been there in the first place, and everything in the city square returned to its original state; original state, that is, excluding the massive gate, which had disappeared with the Spirit. The sort of link that he had with the Spirit seemed to dissolve right away too, and a sort of empty ring filled his ears, as hollow as the sudden yet momentary sensation in his mind, and he was just barely able to make out his own name being called as his companions rushed over to him, kneeling beside him to make sure he was alright.

"Will he be okay?" Miyu asked, concerned as Larva and Lemures helped their foster brother shakily to his feet.

"I think so." Lemures said, allowing Spartoi to lean on him as the bigger man seemed to be quickly gaining his sense back. "It's only happened once or twice before, but Summoning takes a fair amount of energy out of a person, but he should be all right in a few minutes."

"You're the reason why those…those things were here?" An angry outburst from somewhere behind him made the blood in Larva's veins run cold, and he was almost reluctant to look behind him to see where the voice had come from. Standing behind them were the mobs of Shigaldi civilians that they had, for the time being, forgotten about, all wearing mixed expressions on their faces. Shock. Fear. Mothers shielding their children away from them as if they were more monstrous and dangerous as the ogres. And, most of all, anger, reminding Larva of the look that came into a person's eyes when they had learned that they had been betrayed by a close friend.

"They were after you!" One soot-covered shopkeeper snarled at them, brandishing a pitchfork in their direction furiously. "It's your fault that those creatures were here and that we lost half of the city!"

"N-no…" Larva stammered as he and his companions pressed closer together. "You're wrong! We had no idea that they were after us! We were only trying to help…"

But his attempt to defend themselves only seemed to make matters worse. "It doesn't matter!" Another man shouted, and all around them they could feel a growing anger pressing in on them from all sides, growing quickly to what was unmistakably hatred. "And it does not matter what your attempts or notions were! All that does matter is that you are what you are! Summoners!" An outraged roar filled the city square, drowning out the sound of fire that surrounded them, and each word that reached Larva's ears was like a dagger being driven into his soul.

"Summoners!"

"Demons!"

"Breakers of the world!"

"Breaker of souls!"

"What are you babbling about?" Lemures bellowed back at the mob. "What have we done to you to make you hate us so…" The anger in his voice suddenly vanished like smoke, and fear replaced it just as quickly. "Whoa…wait… What are you…" And Larva felt the same fear seep into his veins as he took into account of what was happening. All around them the civilians of Shigaldi were closing in on them, pressing into a tight circle, shoulder-to-shoulder and blocking absolutely any means of escape. Even more terrifying was the assault of weapons pointed in their direction, no more complex than common farm tools, but at that moment they appeared to be formidable and very deadly.

"This is for ye own goods, lads." Another man growled. "For ye souls, and for the good of the world."

"Be that as it may, let the girl go." Larva said, easing Miyu forward just a bit (despite her physical protests to retreat backwards) to show their attackers that he was not pulling any tricks. "She's only an innocent who has nothing to do with us."

"Let her go!" Lemures yelped from behind. What about us?" He was quickly silenced with a sharp elbow to his side. However, the citizens did not relent, and were sure as hell not going to answer to Larva's request.

"Only if we could." Yet another man said, and this sounded sympathetic and a little sad, as if he was regretting something he had done before it was even taken place. "Unfortunately, it has been seen that she too has been caught up in you affairs. It's for your own good."

At that moment, it definitely seemed as if they had come to a dead end. Sure, they had weapons that were a hundred times more effective than those being used against them, and magical abilities to boot, but these were people they were fighting against, not monsters. And these people would die is they let loose, something that would make the situation a lot worse than it would better.

It was going to take a miracle to save them now.

And, quite ironically, that miracle rose to occasion with amazing grace.

It was as if he had flown down from the heavens, when in fact their savior had leapt from one of the lower, intact buildings, clearing the heads of the circling civilians and landing cleanly in the middle of the circle they had formed. With two quick slashes, moving so fast that they were mere blurs, the weapons before him fell apart like cleanly chopped vegetables, making the men gasp and recoil back, rethinking their actions. Their savior did not relax and held his defensive position, firelight gleaming off the triple stainless-steal blades that were extended like claws from his hands. "You dare turn your hostilities on those who saved your lives?" The young man spoke to the crowd. "The only monsters I see at the present it you!"

"Hey…" Spartoi finally spoke, eye narrowed towards the newcomer. "We're seen him before." The bigger man was right, Larva realized when he got a good look at the young man, and saw that it was the performing illusionist that they had in fact seen that very morning. It was the same shaggy, sandy-colored hair framing a fair face and vibrant, sea green eyes. But now he had completely shed his good-natured, entertaining manner and had taken on the guise of a trained and skilled warrior. And there was something else, something deeper to him that seemed to get under Larva's skin, and prickled something inside his soul that was the tale-tell sign of a natural magician.

However, there was something else that particularly sparked the attention of the resident of his mind…

"Don't be a fool, boy." The first man with the pitchfork said dangerously to the illusionist. "You're getting yourself mixed up in things that are best to stay out of. Leave while you still have the chance."

The boy did not seem threatened at all as the circle once again began to tighten around them. "Perhaps I am…but I would have found myself in this situation sooner or later. And I will not just sit and watch the murder of innocent people who are blamed for a past that they are not responsible for."

"Ain't nothing innocent 'bout them." The second man countered. "As far as we know, that's stopping them from wreaking the same havoc again?"

The boy did not respond right away, but instead cocked his head and peered at the civilians through narrowed eyes. He may not have been that tall – he was, in fact, a lot smaller than any of the men he was guarding – but he knew that trick that Pazusu seemed to have mastered, and was giving the image that he was ten feet tall. Then his sea green eyes flashed back in Larva's direction, and for the briefest moment, an image flitted through Larva's mind, momentary but very clear. He saw a grayscale image of the city, exactly in its current condition, completed empty of people, and running through it, a very clear trail of aquamarine that wound through the streets, towards a section of broken wall, out into the forest…

An escape.

And a message. Head to the north wall. I'll hold them off and meet you there.

Larva understood the unspoken message and nodded, then, without trying to move too much, noted to Lemures and Miyu to the direction in which they would be running. It seemed to be that they got the same image too, because they nodded without question. He just hoped that Spartoi would be strong enough to make the trip. A means of escape verses certain death or no, he was not about to leave his brother behind, weak and unable to defend himself fully.

Without waiting for confirmation, the illusionist took something from his pocket and threw it into the crowd, and the purple smoke of sleep powder erupted into the air, small particles glittering in the firelight. A good two dozen people fell where they stood, and many more were coughing and making a vain attempt to get away from the item's effects, but only to fall into a deep sleep after only a few steps. "Go!" The young man shouted, and they did not have to be told twice. The four of them bolted from the spots they had been fixed on, forcing their way through grabbing hands and futile jabs of make-shift weapons until they broke free of the crowd and were running at full-speed to the north side of the city.

Angry shouts rose from behind them of the civilians that were not effected by the sleep powder. "After them! Do not let them get away!"

Making their way through Shigaldi was more difficult than it seemed as they found themselves climbing over piles of broken buildings and dodging flaming debris raining down from above, as well with one weakened man in tow. Spartoi was able to hold his own, though, and could nonetheless keep up. The sleeping powder may have cleared their path and given them a hefty head start, but now the citizens of Shigaldi were as angry as hornets that had their nests disturbed. At least they had to be grateful for the leap forward that the illusionist gave them…until they reached the north wall.

A massive pile of broken stone stood in their path, twenty feet tall and continuously shifting under its own unstable weight as chunks of stone displaced themselves and creating small avalanches that cascaded to their feet. Just by looking at it, Larva could tell that it was a lot worse than it looked; one wrong step and the whole thing might give out under them, a truly fatal error. And Spartoi… He had done all right on the way here, but a combination of a full Summoning and sprinting half way through the large city was certainly taking its toll on him.

"Let's go guys, we can't stop!" The voice came from above him, and Larva looked up to see Miyu already half way up the broken wall. "It's not like we got a lot of options, so let's move! We'll be safe as soon as we get into the forest!" There was really no use arguing with her; he could hear the mob growing closer by the second.

"Come on Spartoi, I'll help you up." Larva said, reaching out to take the bigger man's arm in a gesture to help him up the miniature mountain, and was mildly surprised when Spartoi wretched it from Larva's grasp.

"Like hell you will. I can take care of myself, you just worry about getting yourself over, you hear me?" No matter how bad things got, Spartoi was still himself and making sure that the safety of his companions came before himself; a virtue of a true knight of honor. Knowing that there was no time to argue with him, Larva strapped Gravedigger onto his back and began to make his way shakily up the pile of stone, hanging back just a bit in case the other man might need a helping hand. Miyu was already almost at the crest, with Lemures not too far behind. It might have looked easy, but he reminded himself that Miyu probably only weighed a fraction of what they did and had the unmistakable agility of a cat, and obviously did not have to worry about the rocks shifting under her feet. At one time Lemures' foot fell wrong, and with a dull clatter, lost his balance as the rock under his foot gave way and he slid half way back down the hill if Spartoi had not seized his collar. It seemed to take hours to get up to the top from the strain and carefully feeling the stability of each foothold, but at last they met the girl at the top, just as the citizens rounded a corner to see them peak the fallen wall.

Without saying another word, the group of runaways began to make their way down the opposite side on the outside of what was left of the city wall, a task that proved to be much more difficult than climbing up. Through the most part of the decent they found themselves almost crab-walking down the steep slope. There was a pain in Larva's ankle when his foot twisted the wrong way and his hands cut and bleeding from the sharp shards on which they fell on. But the decent was undoubtedly faster than the climb, and soon they found themselves back on stable, un-shifting land, but their escape still was not over. Miyu was up and running as soon as she reached the forest floor, and the others followed her example without questioning her, knowing that it was important to get as far away as quickly as possible.

They ran through the night-black forest, trusting their magically heightened senses guide them between the thick trees and dodging turned-up roots and low-hanging branches. Larva was not sure how long they ran for, but his legs were starting to ache due to the strain and his eyes water and his lungs burn from the cool night air. The wind chilled his skin and made his hands hurt, but still, they did not stop running until they heard Miyu's sudden, urgent cry; "Whoa! Stop!" Just ahead of them, they saw Miyu's silhouette stopped ahead of them but wavering as if she was trying to keep her balance…

And a second later, Larva saw why as he was just able to stop himself from going over the edge of a huge, deep ravine that was gaping below them. He regained his balance quickly and grabbed Miyu's shoulders, pulling her back with him so they had a better foothold. That was almost upset when Lemures came to a screeching halt behind them, having to brace himself against Larva's back to keep himself from flying over. It still threw off their balance and once again, all three of them found themselves leaning dangerously over the edge…

Then, coming up from behind them, was the unmistakable crashing sound of Spartoi coming through the trees, and all three of them went cold.

"Wait!"

"Stop!"

"Look out!"

But it was too late as the big man came plowing into them at full force, and helpless to do anything but, all four of them fell over the edge and tumbled down into the dark hollow below.

The decent down was anything but pleasant as they fell down into the darkness, hitting what had to be absolutely every root and rock on the way down. After what felt like an eternity of tumbling down the steep slope, Larva finally hit the bottom of the ravine, but just as uncomfortably as he landed on what felt like Lemures' elbow. Bruised and utterly aching from head to toe, the journey was not complete until Miyu, who obviously fell slower than them, landed on the three Summoners with an unpleasant bump and adding to the pain that was already accumulating in Larva's lower back.

For several moments, none of them moved, or even made an attempt to; it felt as if they had been frozen in one huge physical knot of pain and discomfort, and their bodies absolutely refused to answer to any more abuse that was being administered on them. It was Miyu that rolled off first, seeming to be in the least amount of hurt because she had a relatively softer landing, but Larva had no intentions of ever moving again, had Lemures and Spartoi not made the first move and shoved him onto the ground.

"Great. This is just great!" Lemures fumed as he limped around the clear patch that they had fallen into. It was then that Larva realized that things could have been a lot worse, and they could have fallen right into a nice patch of sharp rocks.

"Lemures, if you say 'things can't get any worse', I will kill you myself." Larva grumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position and working out the crick in his neck. He could not believe that he had complained about the pain he felt when they had to fight the T-rexaur that morning. Compared to this, that had only been a tickle.

"Well, it can't." Lemures shot back. "Here we are, in the middle of no where, in the middle of the night and no one knows we're out here! Well, no one who wants to drive a steak knife through out skulls, anyway! We have no provisions, nothing to protect us from the elements, and if you guys have not forgotten, half of the population of Shigaldi knows what we are! It will reach Proxima by sundown tomorrow, and within the week, the entire bloody country will know about it! Gods!" He had a hand through his hair, picking out twigs and clumps of dirt as his fingers raked through the tangled locks. "We're in real trouble, guys, and I mean a lot of it. This isn't like the time we lay waste to the kitchens or to half of the Kazarin marketplace, but I mean huge trouble. Trouble as in half the bloody world's going to be hunting for our heads by the end of the month!"

"Lemures, will you just calm down?" Larva said impatiently, making a painful effort to stand up. "You're right, we are in a bit of a spot," he was cut off when Lemures snorted loudly. "but we can't afford to loose our heads. What we need to do is start thinking about where to go from here."

"Then I suggest that you start by following the instructions given in your master's note." The sudden voice from above made them all nearly jump out of their skins, but in the dim moonlight shining through the trees, they could make out of dim outline of the illusionist that had helped them not more than a few minutes ago. He was standing on the top of the ravine, but as soon as he got their attention he began to make his way down to them with surprising ease despite the darkness. There was also something clutched in one of his hands, and as soon as he reached the bottom (it was hard to tell, as the hollow was much darker than it was higher up), a sudden light bloomed in the surrounding, making them all squint and cringe away as the lantern he had brought flared to life.

They were in worse shape than Larva has anticipated. All of his companions were scratched up in a hundred places on their bodies, most of which were only welts, a few bleeding, and were filthy with wet dirt and forest debris. Miyu was in the process of picking twigs out of her long, disheveled hair and Spartoi had a split lip, but other than that, Larva realized that the damage could have been a lot worse. All of them were standing and walking with relative ease, and there were no other broken bones or serious wounds, so at least they could get away quickly. Speaking of which…

"What instructions?" He asked the young boy. Then, remembering his manners and his gratitude, he added quickly, "By the way, thanks for saving us back there. If it hadn't been for you, than they probably would be lining the walls with our quartered limbs right now. I'm Larva, and these are my foster brothers Lemures and Spartoi." Lemures, who was still in a foul mood, only snorted, but Spartoi extended his hand in a warm greeting, but Larva figured that he must have bumped his head on the way down, because he missed the young man's hand by some inches.

"Name's Ryuko." He said, the serious manner that he once held slackening a bit. "Traveling illusionist extraordinaire, glad to be of service. Now, down to business…"

"Hold on a moment." Spartoi said, approaching the illusionist. "How is it that you want to help us and not boil us in hot oil like the rest of the world?"

Ryuko grinned in a sly, knowing way. "Well, you know what they say; birds of a feather flock together."

"And he's not kidding." Miyu suddenly spoke, and in the corner of his eye, Larva saw a greenish-blue light that he had not noticed before. The source of the light was coming from a small, marble-sized object she was holding that was shining brightly enough to flood the area with that strange glow. "Ranka gave this to me before I met you guys outside, its what we use to find the other Summoners. Interesting little contraption, really. It only responds to a Summoner once, then memorizes their exact aura so it won't respond again. It already read and recorded your auras. Which means…"

Larva's eyes grew wide with realization as his head snapped back to Ryuko. "You're a Summoner?"

"That I am. So glad that I can finally meet those of my own crowd."

A sort of stunned silence filled the area as, for the first time in their lives, the three Summoners were looking on one of their own after a lifetime of thinking they were the only ones in the world. It should not have been too surprising, as Ranka had already told them that there was another one of them in the city. But to run into his so quickly…

That was when Larva remembered the task that the Keeper had given them. "By the way, you said that our Lord had certain instructions for us. If you guys haven't forgotten, we have a little mission that we're supposed to be carrying out. By the way… When did you meet Lord Pazusu?"

"Before all this started. He sought me out before the ogres attacked and told me that once you were out of the city, to find you and tell you how you're supposed to go about this. Apparently about a mile south of here, he set up your supplies and provisions in the hollowed log of a dead oak with everything you'll need. Then he said to head straight for Kazarin, and hold up in the earl's castle until he can meet you there. Uum…" Ryuko's face twisted a little in an attempt to remember all that he was told. "Damn, I wish he would have written this down, but he obviously didn't want to take the risk… Oh… Lemures, right? You're brother has already on his way to the same place, so he should be there by the time we get there. Other than that, we're supposed to travel the whole night, and not stop until morning. Stay off the roads, and keep your magic stocked. I think that's about it. So…shall we?"

Before saying anything else, the three other men exchanged identical looks with each other that were asking the exact same question that they did not even bother to speak. Finally Lemures shrugged. "What can we say, Lord Pazusu's an enigma of a man. However, it sounds as if he has a good plan; it's better than anything I can think of. Shall we?"

"Yes, let's." Spartoi agreed. "The sooner we get somewhere warm and dry, the better. Lead the way, illusionist." With a performing bow that would do any entertainer proud, he began to walk deeper into the forest, his lantern a firefly through the darkness. There was really no other choice that they had.

But just as Larva went to follow, something small and hard connected with the back of his skull, and he clutched at the spot where the rock had stuck him. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" He snapped, glaring back at Miyu. The girl was glaring just as hard back, her golden eyes narrowed.

"That was for trying to bale me out of that situation we were in." She snapped back. "We're in this together, remember? Ranka even specifically said that I was to accompany you the entire time, so don't you dare be pulling anything like that again! We're kind of in an all-or-nothing situation, remember? So don't be treating me like I don't know how to take care of myself!"

"All right, all right." Larva said, holding up his hands as if trying to ward off her words. "I'm sorry for trying to save you life. There, how's that?" Miyu frowned at him for a moment, then a small smile appeared.

"I guess that will do. So come on, we have to catch up. This isn't going to be an easy journey, so we might as well make the most of it." She did a little bounce-jump off of the rock she was standing on and, collecting her bow and following after the pinprick of light that was weaving through the trees.

Larva sighed as he watched her disappear. She was right on one level; this was not going to be an easy trip that lay ahead of them. In fact, it looked to be one huge and epic quest that he would more likely read in a book somewhere.

He had no idea just how monumental it would turn out to be.

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To Be Continued…

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