Chapter 2; Four Days - Brett
A blond 15-year-old boy looked up at the smoking mountain, his golden eyes blinking a few times, wondering who could've been so foolish as to steal the Elemental Stars. He had heard about the Stars, but he wondered what people would want with them if they didn't have the remaining two Stars.
Unless…
"Kai…" he whispered.
*******************************************
Brett, Eve and Erica watched the mountain, which was still smoking, but no longer bursting out in flames. Brett was shocked to say the least.
'How? How did it happen?' was all that was running through his head.
Eve was in a light state of shock, unable to handle what she had just witnessed. Erica was shaking so badly, that she fell to her knees, her face reading nothing but horror.
"They have the remaining Stars…" Eve whispered, getting out of her state of shock.
"But they still need the Jupiter Star…" Erica murmured.
Brett was silent, until the shock vanished from his face and he whirled around. Eve and Erica turned around in surprise, and looked at Brett, who was now stomping away from them, toward Kalay.
After awhile, all three were walking straight to Kalay, trying not to look back. There were no monsters on the way to Kalay strangely enough. The monsters were probably all shaking with fear from that explosion just a second ago. Brett couldn't really care, he just hoped both his parents were alright.
A few hours later, they arrived at Kalay, which was crowded with people who were staring at the still smoking mountain in bewilderment. Each and everyone probably wondered what was going on, but no one asked. Brett, Eve and Erica easily made their way through the crowds, and they all looked around, searching for signs of the Jupiter Star. They found nothing though.
They took the same strategy as they did at Vault. Brett even climbed on a few roofs, trying to find any trace of the Jupiter Star.
"Come on, Flint, mind giving me a hand?" Brett finally asked the Venus Djinni he carried along.
"Sure!" the Djinni squeaked and hopped around, trying to find any sign of the Jupiter Star.
This continued for two hours, like Brett had said, and still nothing. Eve and Erica had also summoned on their Djinnis, but nothing was found. The trio was confused. Where could a simple gem be hidden so carefully? Where, oh where could it be?
Closing another crate, Brett sat atop of it, sighing in annoyance. Eve and Erica were talking with each other, discussing matters at hand, but Brett had searched a solitary spot to think, alone. He leaned on his knuckles, wondering what he was going to do. Now that all the Elemental Stars had been robbed, things weren't looking too good. Not at all.
He gave a sigh, and looked up at the sky. The sun was nearing twelve o' clock, and if they hurried to the Kalay Docks, then they would be in Tolbi in about 3 hours. But something told them they weren't finished in Kalay yet.
When someone cleared his throat beside him, he looked up, only to meet the eyes of the boy they'd seen in Vault when they had left.
"Yes, is something wrong?" Brett asked smoothly.
"I'm searching for someone, and I was wondering if you might be able to assist me," the boy said, just as smoothly.
Brett thought for a moment, then asked: "Who are you looking for?"
"A woman, she looks like she's sixteen, but I think she's much older. Last time I saw her she wore a pink dress and a short skirt, shoulder guards with purple body-length cape and a leather chest plate. She has orange-red hair, pale skin, high cheekbones, yellow eyes, and had a good figure. See anyone like her?"
Brett thought for a moment, then said: "Not really. Why are you looking for this woman?"
The other boy sighed and said: "She stole something from me that I find very important, and she robbed a lot of other people in Vault. I'm here to try and find her. Now, I'd better get going and try to locate her."
The boy was about to walk away, when Brett stood up and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Look, if you want, we could help you, we have nothing to do right now anyway," Brett told him.
The boy looked a little confused, until he sighed.
"Fine, I probably won't be able to find that woman on my own anyway."
"I'm Brett, by the way. What's your name?" Brett asked as they walked back to the girls.
"Anthony," the boy said.
After some introduction, the group began to search for the mysterious female. Kalay was as busy as ever once again, but there seemed to be a light tension here and there, as if there was a bomb somewhere in town, which would blow up any second. So, once again, the group was searching Kalay for any signs of the thief. However, Kalay was a big town, and it took them some time.
After a few hours, the four of them sat at a table in the Inn, trying to figure out where to go next, when Brett suddenly saw something he thought he'd seen before. Or more specifically, someone.
She had light blond hair, which could be also called the color of the ground, a light red skin, had a circlet around her forehead with spikes on the side, wore a dress with red patterns on it, an orange sash, some heavy metal gauntlets, a red chest plate with the symbol of the Fire Clan Of The North on it, and a fire-red cape.
Brett blinked, twice, before believing what he was seeing.
"Menardi???" he whispered, and the other three people at the table turned to face the woman also.
Eve and Erica looked like they were about to topple over, while Anthony looked suspicious.
"She was with the bandits I've been looking for," he whispered to the gang. "She left the group however and went to someplace north, not sure where."
Brett was trying to think off where he'd seen that woman before, but he didn't know. He couldn't remember. Of course, she looked like Menardi, but he had a feeling like he'd seen her somewhere else before. That's when he registered what Anthony had said.
'North?! But… Vale is north of Vault… which means she…'
"I have a feeling we're in trouble," Brett muttered.
When the woman turned and headed up to the sleeping quarters, they caught sight of her fiery red eyes, which were directed at them for a millisecond, before they focussed elsewhere.
The four of them looked at each other quizzically, before heading upstairs after the woman, planning on having a word with her.
"At points like this, I wish I was a Jupiter Adept instead!" Eve mumbled as they calmly ascended the stairs.
However, once they arrived there---
"She's not here!" Erica said, dumbfounded.
Everyone looked around, trying to find the woman, but not finding her. And it was starting to get rather frustrating! Eve had discovered a door to the side, but it was locked, so they were out of luck.
"Wouldn't you know it?!" Eve said, frustrated, hands on her hips. "Locked!"
At that point, she placed one hand on the door to lean on it, left leg crossed over her right, when it happened.
"EEEEYAAAA!!!!" Eve yelped as the door flew open and she tumbled in, landing flat on her face.
Erica and Anthony almost burst out laughing, while Brett helped the girl up. They stepped into the room, amazed when they noticed all the crates and boxes in the room.
Brett's first thought was: 'Maybe the Jupiter Star is around here.'
Anthony looked around in confusion.
"Whoa…" he muttered. "I never knew that they stole this much."
"Damn, busted!" a smooth feminine voice cooed, and the four of them turned toward the door in confusion.
There, stood none other than the girl Anthony had described, up to the smallest detail. Anthony growled.
"Pheonixia!!" he hissed with venom in his voice.
The girl smiled and said: "That would be me! Yes. And you have some handsome company, Anthony!"
Brett looked confused, until it dawned to him that the girl, Pheonixia, was looking at him.
'Oooooh boy! No good!' he thought.
"Get a life, Pheonixia! I know how that sneaky mind of yours works!" Anthony said.
Eve was almost boiling with rage, but kept silent.
"Awwwwe, you're no fun!" Pheonixia said like a ditzy schoolgirl.
"Shut the hell up already!!" Anthony shouted, and Erica, Eve and Brett looked at Anthony in shock.
The three of them were religious, meaning they didn't curse, so they didn't really approve of Anthony's cursing, but they couldn't order him not to curse.
"I know more about you than you think, so shut up!!" he continued.
"As if! You could never---"
"Oh Pheonixia, please shut up!" a new voice said, and Pheonixia turned to the door.
The woman that looked exactly like Menardi walked in.
"B-but…" Pheonixia started, but she was cut off.
"Silence Pheonixia, and I thought you said you hid everything on a place no one could find."
"I… I just thought…"
"Never mind!"
Suddenly, the woman seemed to notice Brett, and she scowled angrily.
"You again?! I knew I should've finished you off when I had the chance!" she hissed, and Brett's eyes widened.
He knew her? But… where…
*******************************************
The hood fell off to reveal flaming red eyes, earth colored hair, light red skin, and an angry face. The only thing that was out of place was that the face was that of a female, not at all male. The duo almost screamed at the resemblance between the woman and Menardi.
"Does it look like I care?!"
*******************************************
It flashed before his eyes all of the sudden, and that's when he remembered where he'd seen that woman before.
Brett's eyebrows furrowed and he hissed: "I know you! You're the one who came to Vale to steal the Elemental Stars!!"
Eve gasped in surprise, when she also seemed to remember, and she showed pure anger for the first time in her life.
Anthony and Erica looked at the strange woman in shock, who simply scowled even deeper. No one noticed Pheonixia leave after the woman had given her a small sign.
"That's right! And I would've succeeded the very first time if it hadn't been for you and your measly friends!" she hissed.
Brett clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth. Anthony finally recovered from his shock and was about to open his mouth, when several bandits stalked into the room.
Pheonixia walked back in and asked: "Now what?"
The woman didn't move when she asked: "Where's Kai?"
"He's heading for Lunpa as we speak, with the four Elemental Stars," one of the bandits said.
Brett, Eve and Erica looked stunned.
"Four Elemental Stars?! But… I thought the Jupiter Star was missing!!" Eve said.
Anthony felt a little out of place. He knew so little of everything that was going on.
The strange woman sighed and said: "Yes, it's missing indeed. But we discovered two new Elemental Stars."
The four of them looked confused.
"One of the Stars is still missing, and the other is hard to get."
"Real hard," Pheonixia mumbled under her breath.
The mystery woman turned to the bandits and said: "Finish them off, and I want his head," she pointed to Brett, "brought to me on a silver platter!"
And she left the room, with Pheonixia right behind her, whom winked at Brett and said: "Nice meeting you!"
The bandits had quickly surrounded the four of them, but they already had their weapons drawn, ready to battle.
However, they weren't prepared for the number of attacks they had sent in their direction. Brett's eyes widened as he got ready for the crucial impact, when red spirals encircled him, and the crucial hit was no more dangerous than a paper-cut. The others had a similar effect, but Anthony was the only one unaffected with confusion.
And on his shoulder sat Flash, a Mars Djinni.
"I found the little thing a few weeks back," Anthony explained when he saw their confused faces.
*******************************************
The golden haired boy walked into the café, his hood covering his face. He walked over to a small table, which held a single man. The man looked up, and smiled.
"Hey there, is something wrong?" he asked, as the boy sat down on the table.
"Yes, badly," the boy said. "I need your help."
The man quirked an eyebrow and said: "Could be, but you know that if you want info from me, you have to---"
The boy suddenly looked over his shoulder, gave a whistle, making a large cobra rise up on a table, surrounded by five pebbles. The boy fazed out, appeared near the table with the cobra, snatched the five pebbles from beneath the snake with lightning-fast speed, blurred again, and was back at the table of the man, smirking wickedly from under his hood.
The man shook his head, and said: "I don't think I'll ever get used to that!"
The boy just nodded, and stopped smirking.
"The Elemental Stars have been robbed. And I have a suspicious feeling I know who stole them."
*******************************************
Anthony smashed one of the bandit's helmets, and kicked the guy between the family jewels, making the guy howl in pain. One hit against the guy's neck, and he was unconscious. He whirled around and banged another bandit in his face with his club, giving the guy a broken nose and a trip to unconsciousness. He jumped up, flipped backwards, and kicked one more to the back of his head, banging him against one of the walls.
Brett growled angrily, and raised his sword to block a blow from a bandit. He blocked, countered, only to have it miss, he dodged, swung at the guy's legs, but had it blocked, when a sudden quake caught the man off guard and sent him down. Brett kicked the man against his neck and knocked him unconscious. A second bandit ran at him, but he dodged, and kneed the man in his stomach, before knocking him unconscious with his elbow. The third tried to ambush him, but Brett had heard him and had whirled around, blocking the downward slash. Brett grabbed the guy's tunic, dropped back, placed one foot in the man's stomach, and catapulted him into a wall.
Erica grabbed her mace and swung at a bandit, hitting him in the stomach. This caused him to drop his dagger he fought with and grasp his aching stomach. Erica kicked him to his chin and then grabbed the dagger, which she quickly pushed into her sheath. She then placed her mace away, and grabbed her long sword, effectively blocking a swing for her head. One kick to the back of the man's knees made him fall down, and with the hilt, she knocked him unconscious. She then grabbed the dagger she'd picked up, and slashed another one over his chest, before punching him in the face and kicking him into unconsciousness.
Eve sent another blast of magic from her wand at a bandit, sending him back into a wall. When the guy dropped, he was knocked out cold. Eve hurriedly ducked to avoid getting slashed at, and with a quick move, she had knocked the guy's legs from under. She shot back to her feet, hurriedly brought her fists up and smashed them down on the bandit's face. She then whirled around and sent one of them away with a swift roundhouse-kick, which she had learned from Brett. The bandit's jaw was easily knocked out of joint, and he dropped to the ground, out cold.
They looked around to see that all the bandits were out cold. After catching their breaths, they smiled and Anthony went to get someone that went by the name of Loran.
Afterward, every single crate was searched, and Anthony had found what he was looking for; a black charm with the symbol of The Fire Clan Of The North on it, something he had received from a strange girl who seemed to be fearing her life. She had asked if he had wanted to look after the charm until she came to retrieve it, after which she had run, tears streaming from her eyes, which had been red and puffy.
The four of them were resting at the Inn, each enjoying their victory, with Brett, Eve and Erica explaining Anthony about the Elemental Stars. Anthony was astonished about it all, and after the three were finished with their story, he told them his.
"That woman had been a little weird. It's been 2 months since I met her, and I haven't seen her since. It was like someone was chasing her around the globe or something," Anthony mumbled, taking a swig of his drink.
Brett nodded thoughtfully.
"Can I see it?" Erica asked.
Anthony nodded and gave the girl the charm, allowing her to study it carefully. The symbol was engraved in dark silver, which reminded Brett of something.
*******************************************
Pain surged through his arm, but then, it was gone. He looked up. A young woman smiled at him, then turned to the earthen haired woman and raced forward, a strange black charm dangling from her tender neck.
*******************************************
Brett heavily shook his head. He didn't really like the flashbacks he now had. Why did he have them now? Now of all times? He raked a hand through his hair, and watched Eve and Erica study the black charm. After announcing that he was going to bed, he left the trio, and went up to his room to think. He sat down on the bed, thinking.
His head was resting on his hands, and he was gazing up at the ceiling. He tried to remember the face of the woman that had owned the charm, but his mind wasn't ready for it, and he was left with one major headache. Maybe if he went to sleep, his dreams would tell him a little more.
With that thought he laid down on the bed after undressing to nothing but his boxers, and falling asleep.
*******************************************
Red… silver… blue… deep magenta… they all swirled around him as he walked, trying to find something, anything, that would indicate a life-force. That's when he saw them.
The Elemental Stars…
Mars… a deep red, the color of Fire…
Venus… a light yellow, with its Earth powers…
Mercury… a lovely blue, like Water…
And Jupiter… a deep magenta, strong like the force of Wind…
But… there were two others…
One of them a lovely white color…
The other an ultra dark color…
The Jupiter star was heading north-northeast, while four others moved north-northwest, and the last was staying at one place.
He watched them… waiting… when something was heard…
Heartbeats… calm ones… then faster… louder… and somewhere ahead of him, he saw the insignia of The Fire Clan Of The North… lighting up fiercely…
With a bright magenta flash, everything went black…
*******************************************
Brett calmly opened his eyes, and stared up at the ceiling. Which were they going to follow? If they followed the four Stars heading toward Lunpa, they would run into Pheonixia and that other woman again, and that star in Tolbi didn't seem like it was moving any time soon. Brett sighed and got up from bed. After dressing, he had his mind made up.
'Bilibin, here we come!'
*******************************************
Eve was sitting at a table, listening to Erica and Anthony converse, but not really hearing them. Eve was still furious.
'If that ditz even dares to hit on Brett, Sol help her!' she thought angrily.
Her fingers dug into her hands, and her nails would've gone through the delicate skin, if Brett hadn't come down.
"Eve, Erica, get your stuff. We're leaving to Bilibin," he said, and that's when they noticed he carried his pouch with him around his shoulder.
Erica looked confused.
"Bilibin? I thought we were going to Tolbi?" she asked.
"There's been a change of plans," Brett stated simply, and was out the door within a second.
Eve and Erica looked at each other a little strangely, before rushing to their rooms to get their stuff. Anthony watched, a little shocked about the sudden departure.
A little while later, everyone was packed, and ready to head back north again. Anthony was also among them, reasons yet unknown. The trip north usually doesn't take them too long, but every monster was out again, forcing them to stop every now and then to battle. They had decided to take a shortcut through one of the forests, seeing as Anthony knew the way.
Brett was amazed by what Anthony knew, as they continued through the woods, until ---
With a loud screech, a Venus Djinni jumped from a tree on top of Brett's head. Brett yelped in surprise, but could do nothing about the Djinni. He didn't even have to, for Anthony knocked the Djinni off with his club. Brett quickly grabbed his sword as the Djinni shook his "head".
"EARTHQUAKE!!!" Brett shouted as golden spirals encircled him and a large Earthquake made the Djinni topple over.
Eve grabbed her wand, and it let out a blast of icy wind at the Djinni, who shivered, before shaking it off. The Djinni suddenly shot forward, and headbutted Brett into his stomach, making the Venus Adept gasp in surprise.
"FLARE!!!" Anthony shouted, having pure red spirals encircle him, and shot a blast of Fire Psynergy at the Djinni.
The Djinni was unaffected.
Brett finally growled and shouted: "FLINT!!!" while jumping into the air, the Venus Djinni coming out and creating a bright golden hue around Brett's sword.
Brett slashed down at the Djinni, who cried out in surprise, and fell.
Brett straightened up as the Djinni jumped up. It hopped up and down, before spinning around wildly, and changing into golden sparks that shot up into the sky, which came in contact with Brett. He smiled.
"Looks like Arret is mine," he said turning to his friends.
They continued to battle enemies as they headed back to Vault.
*******************************************
They arrived at Vault within another hour, making it around noon. The sun hid behind a few clouds, making the day at least half-bearable. However, there was a strange tension among them, as if they were carrying a bomb around their neck or something. No one knew exactly what to say; if anything at all.
Anthony was the one to break the silence.
"Hey, would you guys mind if I went along with you?"
Brett turned around, his hair whipping about as he looked at Anthony in surprise.
"Go along with us? Why??" he asked, as Eve and Erica also looked at Anthony questioningly.
"I still have to capture Pheonixia," Anthony said. "Either that or I'll never be accepted by my 'father' again."
Brett was a little confused. Suddenly he remembered when Anthony had been arguing with that old man in front of the Mayor's Manor, and figured that that old man had been Anthony's father.
"But… what happened then?" Eve asked.
"Well, I'm a member of the local guard here in Vault and fight alongside of my adopted father to protect Vault from Bandits. I'm the strongest fighter in the guard and my father was proud of me. But once I started to manifest these powers, which was actually Psynergy, my father said that I was a coward who needed smoke and mirrors to win battles, and he disowned me. So, to win back my father's respect, I have to capture Pheonixia."
Eve and Erica looked a little shocked, but Brett seemed perfectly fine.
"I see. Well, I don't see why not then."
Anthony smiled.
After buying some brand new artifacts, they left toward Goma Cave. What they discovered however, was that someone else had been there before. And that wasn't all they found.
Brett rubbed the magenta sparkles between his thumb and index finger, wondering what was going on.
"What's going on here?" Eve asked, voicing his thoughts.
"Wish I knew. Let's go already," Brett said, and they headed into Goma Cave.
*******************************************
Inside of the cave, they searched for signs of magenta sparkles, but found none. Anthony for once, had no clue on where to go, because he never went to Goma Cave. They continued through, fighting Amazes and Zombies on the way. They weren't that much trouble, but they had the urgency to show up in larger groups, making it harder to defeat them.
Anthony bashed another Zombie's skull, and landed on the ground with a thud. Brett sliced another Amaze in half, and smiled at his handy work. Erica simply threw her mace through an Amaze, before running over to it to pick it up. Eve simply twirled her wand and hit a Zombie in the face with the end.
They continued on, Eve wiping the sweat from her brow. No one noticed the footprints on a lower ridge.
"Strange," Erica suddenly mumbled, looking around.
"What?" Brett asked, turning around.
"Look around!"
They all looked around, and noticed that there were large pieces of rock scattered around the area, and large gaping holes in the ceiling, showing the darkening sky. Psynergy stones lay scattered between the large pieces of rock, each a strange mixture of gold, magenta, blue and red.
"Now that's funny," Anthony said, picking up a golden Psynergy stone.
He threw it up, caught it, and looked at it. Nothing happened.
"Can I have one?" Brett asked.
Anthony complied and tossed the golden colored one at Brett, who caught it. Brett instantly felt refreshed… and the Psynergy stone disappeared.
The four of them were confused at first, until a light seemed to be lit in Anthony's head, and he picked up a red Psynergy stone, which refreshed him, and vanished. The girls also noticed the pattern, and each picked up a blue Psynergy stone. They continued to walk, until…
"DUCK!!!" Anthony screamed, and just as they did, a blast a fire surged over them, missing them by a hair.
They all looked up to see a fire-red Mars Djinni growling at them. Erica and Eve watched the Djinni and Anthony shook his head to stop its ringing. Brett quickly grabbed his sword and was ready for action. The Djinni raced at him with a loud scream, but Brett had been ready.
"RAMSES!!!" he screamed.
The world made place for a desert, where a sphinx-like beast slammed his hand on the ground to create an earthquake, before firing his hand at the poor Djinni. Eve smiled broadly, and decided to lend a hand.
"NEREID!!!" she screamed.
A young girl seated on the back of a large turtle appeared and her red eyes were ablaze, while her black hair was tied in two buns on either side of her head. She simply waved her hand toward the Djinni, and a giant wave of water crushed the Mars Djinni almost instantly.
The Djinni was easily down for the count. It jumped up, hopped up and down, before spinning around wildly, and dissolving into golden bolls of energy, which merged into Anthony.
"Well, Onrefni just joined the party!" Anthony said with a smirk on his face.
*******************************************
As they came out from Goma Cave, they instantly saw the town of Bilibin, but Brett had the feeling that they were being watched. However, he let it slide, and the four of them entered Bilibin.
Naturally, Bilibin was a wondrous place, and the girls had soon forgotten that their real plans had been directed at Tolbi. They started their search, and each searched a different portion of town. The sun was setting, and the sky was darkening, meaning that night would soon come. Brett was just planning to meet his friends at the Inn, when a young girl's laughter made him turn around.
He saw a rather young girl, holding a doll that had been saved from a trip to the trashcan. However, that wasn't what caught Brett's attention. It were the magenta colored sparkles that decorated it. Brett walked over to the girl.
"Hey girl," Brett said, smiling at the young girl.
The girl looked up with lovely blue eyes and curly brown hair.
"Hello," she said politely.
"May I ask, how those magenta sparkles came on your doll?" Brett inquired.
The girl nodded and said: "Some nice man fixed my doll when it lost its head. He was really nice! But he had to leave real soon. He asked my mommy and daddy how to get to Kolia… Kolami… Kola…"
"Kolima??" Brett offered.
"Yeah! Kolima! And then he left."
Brett nodded.
"How did this 'nice man' look like?"
The girl thought for a moment, then said: "He wore a pretty armor, and his hair hung in front of his eye."
"Thank you."
"Anytime."
Brett thought about this. If that guy that looked like Saturos had been here, either he too knew that the Jupiter Star was around here, or he had been here for his own reasons. It kept him busy the entire trip to the Inn, as he was trying to figure out why that guy left a trail of magenta sparkles everywhere he went.
Suddenly, Brett halted. There was something nagging at the back of his mind, and it made him look around carefully.
"Hey Brett!!"
A familiar voice aroused Brett from his trance, and he looked back to see Eve walking over to him.
"Did you find anything?" she asked.
Brett chose his words carefully.
"Besides the fact that that guy who looked like Saturos was here, nothing," he finally said.
Eve looked at him in astonishment.
"That guy was here?!" Eve repeated.
"Yeah."
The two of them went to the Inn, and the story was soon on everyone's mind.
"Saturos?" Anthony questioned. "I know of 'em, of course, but wasn't he supposed to be dead?"
"Well, we heard from a reliable source that he might've survived somehow, though we're still not sure how," Erica said.
Anthony quirked an eyebrow at the girl.
"Oh? Who told you that?" he asked.
"Some guy named Rander, and he---" Eve started, when Anthony began to chuckle.
"Rander?! Mr. I-know-more-about-the-wild-than-thee?!" Anthony asked, trying to suppress his chuckles.
"What's wrong with that?" Brett asked.
Anthony shook his head and said: "Nothing, it's just that in the few weeks he's been at Vault, that he'd been rude nearly all of the time, like he had something stuck up his ass or something. Cranky too."
Brett didn't approve of Anthony's tongue, but kept his own inside his mouth as if in fear of losing it if he didn't.
"So he wasn't very loved?" Eve said.
"Nope."
The subject staid on Rander for a few hours more, until it reverted back to their original subject. The four of them discussed many things that could've happened to Saturos or Menardi, but none of it made sense. The only thing that did, was Rander's explanation, although they didn't like to admit it.
However, there was something that wasn't right; Saturos had a blue cape and red eyes, while this other guy had the exact opposite. There was something else that Brett had only just figured out; the ears.
The Fire Clan Of The North all had sharply pointed ears, but people tend not to look at something such a miniscule as that. And this guy that looked like Saturos was the wrong height (Saturos was 7'2, not 7'0).
When the clock struck 12, Brett turned around to face the old Coo-coo clock. A new day already. The third day after the eruption, meaning they'd been out searching for the Jupiter Star for nearly a week now. Only now they had even more responsibilities; such as retrieving the other Stars. Question was; which came first?
"By Luna, I had no idea it was this late already!" Erica exclaimed, breaking the silence right after the Coo-coo clock stopped coo-cooing.
After some 'goodnights', and 'pleasant dreams', the four of them went up to the rooms they had paid for, and enjoyed a good night's sleep.
*******************************************
While everyone else was sleeping, a golden haired, golden eyed boy sat at the bow of the boat that traveled to the Kalay Docks, from which he would travel to Kalay, Lunpa, and then back to Tolbi once again. After all, Colosso was but 2 days away, and he wouldn't miss that for the world. Of course, he could easily fly to Lunpa, but Kai would suspect that.
Kai knew about his 'special abilities', having experienced them before. Kai had survived somehow, though he had no clue as to how. He pulled out the dagger from its sheath, and studied it from all angles.
The whole dagger was gold, even the blade. On the hilt were gold, blue, red and purple crystals. It had a diamond at the bottom of the hilt. He had picked it up right before leaving Tolbi.
'This should've taken care of him,' he thought as he placed it away. 'It should've, but it didn't. Why?'
*******************************************
Morning came rather fast, and it had been decided (by Eve) that they were heading towards Imil. It was a 6 hour travel, and they wanted to hurry back too so they could enter in Colosso, if they could. Isaac and his friends had had difficulties getting into Colosso as well, and, hadn't it been for Babi, Isaac never would've entered at all.
As the subject staid on Babi, everyone was wondering if Babi was still alive or not. This brought forth a whole new subject though.
They left Bilibin, and headed north-north-west, toward Imil, and were still discussing about Babi, when Erica suddenly spoke up.
"This reminds me of something I'd heard somewhere. There had been a girl in Vale who said; 'If you wish to grow old, don't slow the aging process, but make it count until it's over'. That girl was rather smart, for a kid."
Brett nodded. He had heard of that girl as well, yet hadn't met her. No one knew where she had gone, but she had vanished at some point. All conversation stopped then, and they continued to battle monsters as they headed toward Imil.
They walked to the Bilibin Cave Entrance, and instantly saw a small sapling. Anthony received one of Brett's Djinnis, and used Growth on the small sapling. Brett took back his Djinni, and they each climbed the vine up to a cliff. A short walk later, they arrived at a small canyon, which they hopped over. After some sliding, they finally came to the entrance, and easily went in.
Inside, they instantly noticed the deadly quiet, as if it was completely deserted. Each of them looked around, confused, before they slid down a slope, and started their way through the cave.
For one reason or another, all was quiet, and not a single monster reared its hide. As the temperature was going down, they each got their fur-coats out and put them on hastily, due to the constant freezing winds that blew over. Their footsteps echoed through the darkness of the cave, as they continued through. Their fingers and toes were already starting to freeze, and Brett kept popping them to prevent them from fully freezing.
It made the others a tad nervous.
"Brett! Stop that for once!!" Anthony shouted angrily as Brett popped his fingers again, and it bounced off the walls.
Brett looked at Anthony from the corner of his eyes, then focussed back on the path. He cupped his hands over his mouth, and blew, making his hands warm due to his breath. He rubbed them a few times, when he suddenly came to a halt.
Anthony, Eve and Erica looked at Brett in confusion, until Brett turned around and a large quake shook the earth a little further up ahead.
A human-like shape sprinted off, but Brett had managed to get a good look at him.
He had short brown hair, sheaths for daggers on his shoulders, a muscular build, wasn't exactly handsome, but neither was he ugly. He wore brown pants, a travel vest with a cotton shirt underneath and a bandana around his forehead. Brett didn't really see what kind of weapons the man had been carrying along, but Brett didn't really care.
He was gone now.
Once Brett was completely sure of that, they continued on.
*******************************************
He grabbed the cloak, and put it over himself, staying in the shadows. The cloak instantly worked, and the guards were easily tricked, then killed with his sword. A sword with a gold hilt, and a blade that looked as if it could slice through the best of steel. He stayed in the shadows, looking everywhere to ensure that no one with Psynergy was around. Because he knew that people with Psynergy could see him.
Carefully, he tiptoed into the fortress, past the guards and through the gates. His boots didn't make a sound as he walked through the corridors, avoiding guards whenever he had to. No one had seen him so far, which was a good thing. And he hoped to keep it that way for awhile. After almost an hour of walking, he suddenly he heard voices.
"What do you mean?" a feminine voice said.
He carefully peeked through an open door, and saw two people three people. One of them was a girl with orange colored hair, and another woman with earthen colored hair. The third, was a man with gray eyes and short coal black hair, dressed in a tunic, cloak and some armor, who he knew as Kai.
"The Jupiter Star can be miles away for all I know," the earthen haired female said. "If I know her, she's a thousand light-years away, figuratively speaking off course, this world isn't that large."
'Her?' he wondered. 'The Jupiter Star is in possession of… a woman? How bizarre!'
"Is she that fast?" Kai asked, looking rather interested as his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Yes Kai, she is. She's either going to some place that's away from the Jupiter Lighthouse, or she's heading toward it. I'm not too sure," the earthen haired woman said again.
"But, what will she do with the Jupiter Star anyway?" the orange haired girl asked.
The earthen haired woman shook her head to show that she didn't know.
When he heard footsteps heading his way, he hurriedly hid behind a rock, just incase it was someone who could use Psynergy. He looked over the ledge and gasped softly.
The guy that was walking over was 6'2, had sharply pointed ears, a strange black elven hat, and wore similar clothing, but the only thing that fell out of place, was that his eyes were cloaked in constant shadow. A shield was tied around his left arm, a sword-sheath hung on his back, he carried a bow and arrow along, along with a pouch which seemed to be overloaded with stuff, but it didn't seem to bother the man. The man's mouth was curled downward in a look of utter disgust, and his sharp nose was lightly standing up at the tip.
The man entered the room the other three had been in, and he heard a greeting coming from Kai.
"Morning Yame, anything new?"
The man shook his head, and staid in one of the darkest corners of the room, not moving an inch.
'Alright, I've seen enough!' he thought, and left as silent as he came.
Only thing he hadn't counted on, was Yame's voice saying: "Oh, and there was somebody eavesdropping on your conversation outside."
He froze, and thought: 'Uh-oh,' before running as fast as his feet could carry him, as quiet as possible.
*******************************************
The ice pillar melted once Anthony had used Blast on it. They all continued, and finally came to the exit. Outside, the wind blew hard against their faces, making them stagger back. Brett peered through an opening between his arms to look for Imil in the storm. They had spent 1 hour in Bilibin Cave due to the fact that they didn't have to fight, and it would take a while before they'd arrive at Imil.
They continued on, fighting monsters of all sizes as they went. When they killed 4 Grizzlies, they took the furs and replaced their old coats with the furs, which were surprisingly warmer. Thus, the journey continued. The wind was hard to handle, as were the monsters, and both combined, made it hard for them to get to Imil.
But, three hard hours later…
They stepped through the gates of Imil, and they each gave a sigh of relief, which caused small clouds to form. A lot of people appeared to be sick, so the Mercury Lighthouse hadn't been lit yet. That was good. Not good for the people, but good for the world.
They continued through the city, searching for any sign of the Jupiter Star, but finding none. The ice was slippery, and they had to be extra careful so as not to slip and land on their rear. Hours went by, and still no sign of the Jupiter Star. Something here was definitely not right. Where could that stupid Star be?
The four of them continued to search, until they finally gave up.
"I find this highly annoying!" Anthony mumbled, when they were all standing in front of the Inn, wondering what to do now.
"That makes two of us then," Brett muttered, looking up toward the sky, his breath coming out in little clouds of dew.
Eve shivered as she pulled her coat tighter around herself, looking around, still looking for a sign of the Jupiter Star.
Erica gave a long sigh, and said: "What do you say we head to Tolbi then? I want to enter in Colosso."
Brett looked at Erica, then at the ground, deep in thought.
Brett finally looked up, and said: "Let's move then."
That was everything they needed, as they left Imil, to return later on.
*******************************************
With a madly beating heart, he exited Lunpa, and mounted the horse waiting there for him. Within seconds, the horse was riding down the hills, toward Tolbi using the pass. It might be a longer route, but everyone who knew him well, knew he would usually take the boat to Tolbi.
He was nearing the docks, and he looked back to see if anyone had followed him. It had taken him hours to escape, and it had taken him even longer to get this far. Looking back however, was the worst mistake he made thus far.
As his horse suddenly staggered and whined, he was thrown off guard, as well as off of his horse. He cried out in surprise as he landed, rather hard. When he looked up, he noticed that a girl had probably tripped and was now about to be stepped on. However, someone raced over and pushed the girl to safety, right before the girl could get killed easily.
The boy checked if the girl was alright, before looking up at him, rather mad. He didn't bother though, and got back up, dusting himself off. He gave the other boy one glance, before mounting his horse again, and riding off toward Tolbi.
*******************************************
They had traveled from Imil straight to the Kalay Docks, although no one knew how they did it, and then this guy almost killed Eve! Who was that guy anyway?
The guy dusted himself off, and rode off on his horse after giving Brett one last glance. Eve was still shaking and looked rather frightened. Anthony and Erica walked over, and Anthony was staring after the other guy as he strode off, his eyes wide.
Erica huffed.
"Who was that guy? He didn't even apologize!"
Brett helped Eve up to her feet, and helped her stand for awhile, until she could stand on her own again. Without a word, they headed toward the Kalay Docks, where they took the first boat to Tolbi.
*******************************************
When he arrived, he calmly got off of his horse, and noticed the crowd of people that had flooded Tolbi.
He gave a sigh, and was about to leave, when he heard someone say: "Wow! I can't believe I'm in Tolbi! This is amazing!!"
He looked around, and then noticed a group of four standing there, two guys, two galls. It had been one of the girls that had spoken.
"Hey, chill out. What's the deal? It's just a city!" one of the guys said.
"How can you be so calm?! We're in Tolbi! Where the oldest man in the world lives! Doesn't that excite you in the least!?" the second girl asked.
The guy sweat dropped.
"Babi? What about him?" the second guy said, his arms crossed over his chest.
"He's just some old geezer who wants to live forever. Big deal."
The first guy nodded and said: "I agree on that one. If you wish to grow old, don't slow the aging process, but make it count until it's over."
*******************************************
Hey now, wasn't that what that girl from Vale had said? (Rereads chapter) Well what do you know! It is!
Who are those four that were talking at the end? All this and more will be revealed in the next chapter: Four Days – Zeros
New characters that have been named:
Anthony*
Kai
Pheonixia*
Yame
*Creations of Brett Morphy