"Well, Isaac. It's Christmas Eve. I hope you got your present for your
secret Santa." Garet jeered. "Getting Felix the boots was piece of cake,
even with your goofy eggnog induced antics."
"Garet, you know I hate eggnog." Isaac grumbled, tying his golden scarf tight around his neck. "I've got it taken care of."
"I don't even think you bought it yet, did you?"
"I've got it taken care of."
"By the way, you never did fess up who your secret Santa was. Who are you buying for, anyway?!" Garet prodded.
"You'll find out tomorrow, Garet; leave me to my devices. Later." Isaac said, giving a half-farewell half-blow off wave over his shoulder. Isaac left the inn's room and quickly exited the temporary residence. He sighed as he walked down the shopping district and began browsing through windows of things. The truth was, he had no idea what to get Mia. He may have loved her and understood her better than anyone else, but he was hidebound to figure out her material desires. Mia was never one on material ownership, and she was always contented with what she had. What could he get her? He sighed, reaching a jewelry store. Why not give it a try? There might be the answer to his quandary here. He opened the door and kicked the snow from his boots before entering.
"May I help you, sir?" A clerk asked the Venus Adept.
"No. I'll be okay." Isaac replied, beginning to look at bracelets. Though there were several types of countless varieties, no armband seemed to leap out at the young lover. Each of the bracelets had their problems. . . too plain, too fancy, too extravagant, too ordinary, too expensive, too cheap. Although Isaac was willing to pay just about any sum, he could not place what he wanted. Sighing, he moved on to earrings. Again, nothing pleased his eyes; while Mia would surely like anything he got for her, nothing seemed to be special enough. He moved over to rings. Nothing special. Isaac growled to himself in frustration. Why did this have to be so hard?! He finally moved over to necklaces and amulets. The racks were again piled high in beautiful looking baubles. He fingered through each amulet until he stumbled across the most beautiful amulet he had ever seen.
It was of the shiniest of platinum, the charm large and beautiful. The charm of the amulet was in the shape of a crescent moon, and in its concave area lay a huge shining blue sapphire sphere. The moon itself was carved in with the ancient script of Mercury, while the stone seemed to glow with life and energy. The stone seemed to contain calming and rocking waters of Mercury itself. The amulet wouldn't bulge under clothes, but it was certainly large despite the fact. Isaac smiled. It was the one. Out of old thought, he pulled out his amulet from beneath his shirt.
His own amulet seemed to glow with light and life too. Mia had given him the amulet back in Imil after they revealed their feelings for each other, and Isaac never forgot that day. He'd never taken off the amulet, either. Mia later explained the amulet's full meaning, and Isaac felt it all the more appropriate to keep wearing it. It was time to return the favor to her. He smiled, stuffing his own amulet back beneath his tunic while bringing the amulet forward to the front of the store.
"Wow, that's a beautiful one, sir. For the special someone?" The man behind the counter asked.
"Yes, it is." Isaac replied, smile beaming. "She'll love it."
"I'm sure she will. That amulet's going to cost you 2500 gold coins." Isaac jumped back at the price. He could afford it, but it was still expensive. He sighed, and quickly produced the required sum from his bag of money. "Wow, not many can afford to pay for such a thing in one payment. You must be quite the adventurer."
"I've had my share of luck finding treasure."
"Well, either way, I hope your special someone likes the amulet." He said, handing it over to the beaming Venus Adept.
"She will, but there's one thing that bugs me, sir. Do you know what these writings on the moon mean?" Isaac asked, pointing them out.
"Afraid I don't, sir. I don't even recognize that archaic language."
"I see. Thank you sir." Isaac stated, slipping the amulet into his pocket. "Have a merry Christmas."
"You too, good sir." The shopkeeper waved back. Isaac left the store and headed down the street, a smile beaming on his face. Mia would absolutely adore the amulet.
"Hey, Isaac!" A female voice sounded behind him. He winced; he prayed it wasn't Mia in the off chance she may discover the amulet early. He spun around to see the deep purple eyes of Jenna. "Doing your shopping?"
"Finished it, Jenna."
"Tell me, who did you get?"
"I can't tell you." Isaac replied. "I didn't even tell Garet."
"I'd expected you to say 'Mia' rather than Garet. Does that mean what I think it means?"
"What does it mean, Jenna?" Isaac questioned.
"It means you were shopping for Mia, doesn't it?" Jenna smirked. "Don't hide it, Isaac. I've known you long enough. So, what did you get her?"
Isaac laughed. "You've got me pegged, Jenna. I'll show you as long as you keep it a secret, okay?"
"You know me, Isaac. I've never blabbed a secret to anyone before." Isaac smiled at his friend's truthfulness. He pulled the amulet from his pocket and held it out to her. Jenna looked absolutely stunned at the necklace. "Isaac. . . it's the most beautiful piece of jewelry I've ever seen! Those aren't even my favorite colors, and I love it! Mia will go nuts over it!" Jenna said in disbelief. "It's so perfect, Isaac."
"Thanks. It took a long time to find it. I'm not letting this baby out of my sight until tomorrow." Isaac stated, the amulet still in his outstretched hand. "That's right, nothing's getting a hold of it while I'm . . ." He halted as he felt a sudden tug on his hand and the loss of some mass within it. He looked down to see the amulet gone, and he looked up to see a large sea gull carrying it away in its claws. "Damn it!" Isaac shouted, chasing after the bird.
"Isaac, wait!" Jenna called to him, following her friend's pursuit.
"Rotten bird!" Isaac shouted, chasing after the bird as it lofted high into the sky, amulet still in its small talons. "I hate sea gulls! They're so annoying!" Isaac grumbled to himself, keeping pursuit close. It lighted onto a building roof, into what appeared to be a nest. There was no ladder to the roof, and it looked like a private residence.
"Great, just great." Isaac muttered, Jenna finally catching up. "It's on that roof! How do we get it down now?!"
"Stay calm, Isaac. Let's just go ask and see if the people living here would be so kind as to let us get up to the roof."
"Good plan." Isaac stated, following Jenna to the front door. The Mars Adept rapped on the door moderately hard, and the sounds of footsteps were heard approaching. The door opened, and an elderly man was at the door.
"Excuse me, sir, but may we ask a favor of you?" Jenna asked, eyes closed.
"Sure thing, Miss Knockout herself!" A familiar voice answered. Jenna's purple eyes shot open, and she caught sight of old Gil from a few days ago. "Couldn't resist old Gil, could you? I knew you'd want some of my love!" His further speech was impaired by a punch from the Mars Adept to the stomach. Gil fell to the ground passed out again.
"Pervert!" Jenna muttered to herself. "I thought I was rid of you."
"This is something I don't want to know, right?" Isaac asked.
"What?!" A voice from inside the house rang out.
"Not him, too. . ." Jenna slapped her head.
"What?!" The voice of Joe rang out again.
"Excuse me, but we need some help! A bird stole something from me and landed on your roof!"
"A curd droll from Lee and banded on Tour's hoof?!" A different voice sounded.
"Shut up, stupid!" A woman's voice shouted out. A rather large and ugly woman came to the door and stood before Isaac. "What do you want?!"
"Um, ma'am. You see, a bird stole something from me and it found its perch on your roof. I'm asking permission to go up onto the roof and grab the item."
"Let me think." The woman stated. "NO!" She slammed the door in Isaac's face, leaving him bewildered.
"Well, that went well." Isaac sighed. "All right, what's our next option?"
"A ladder." Jenna stated. "I saw the shopkeeper down the road using one." She charged down the road and came back shortly with the ladder.
"Good work, Jenna. Let's get the necklace. You hold the ladder, I'll climb to the roof and grab it." Isaac clambered up the ladder and made a grab for the roof. As he was about to climb up onto the roof, he heard a voice below him.
"I told you hooligans that you weren't allowed on MY roof!" The ugly woman yelled out the second story window. Her large and fat arms reached out form the window and shoved the ladder from beneath Isaac.
"WHOA!!!" Isaac shouted as he fell from the ladder and into a snowbank. The cold white powder broke his fall, but he was not at all pleased. "OW! Hey! That was uncalled for, ma'am!" Isaac shouted up to the woman, who doused him with a bucket of freezing cold water. "YOW!" Isaac shouted, getting to his feet, freezing his butt off. He stood shivering as he heard the window above him slam shut.
"Wow, that was really mean." Jenna said. "Hold still, Isaac. I'm going to try to dry you off." Her hands began to glow with red Psynergy, as warm heat spread over Isaac's freezing body. Soon, he could feel himself return to normal temperature, and Jenna halted with her warming process.
"Now what?" Isaac asked. "I know! A rope and hook!" He reached into the small bag at his waist and produced a large grappling hook and a long rope.
"Thank goodness for those magic holding bags, eh, Isaac?" Jenna asked.
"You know it!" Isaac replied, winging the hook to the roof and latching it around the chimney. "Here we go!" He said, shimmying up the rope. It was hard to keep climbing, but he was more than motivated to make it to the top. When he finally was about to reach the top, he could hear the voice of the woman down below on the ground. She was definitely yelling at Jenna.
"You little brat! What gives you the right to do these kinds of things? First you disobey me with a ladder and now with a rope? I hope your boyfriend's not up there because he's getting a one way ticket back down!" She yelled, pulling down on the rope with all of her weight. Isaac heard the scraping of the hook as he fell back into the snowbank he did earlier, the hook clanging onto the ground nearby.
"Ow." Isaac said, sitting up.
"And you're as bad as she is! You and your girlfriend needs to learn some manners."
"She's not my girlfriend, miss. The amulet on the roof is for my girlfriend for Christmas."
"Well, what might your girlfriend look like? You can't do any worse than this wench." She said, pointing to Jenna.
"Hey!" Jenna shouted, getting ready to throttle the woman.
"Jenna, please. Restraint." Isaac stated holding her arm back. "My girlfriend is the most beautiful girl I've ever met. She has long flowing blue hair and she wears robes of the purest white, the most soothing purple, and the most beautiful blue. Her eyes sparkle with the beauty of the sea, and her. . ."
"Enough!" The woman shouted. "I met your girlfriend the other day. Was she with some ugly guy with blue tinted glasses and sporting a black cape?"
"Must've been Triad." Isaac shrugged. "He's one of my friends."
"Your bitch of a girlfriend cost me a beautiful dress the other day."
"Excuse me?!" Isaac stated, angrily. "Mia's a lot nicer than you'll ever hope to be!"
"I'm glad your stupid present is stuck on the roof, because you'll never get it! I'll call the constable if you try to get up on my roof again." Isaac sighed. That was it. He lost the present to Mia, and there was no way to get it back. The woman's words drowned out in his mind; his mind focused on how to explain to Mia how this happened. Suddenly, a strange blow came to the top of his head, and it fell into his hand.
"What the?" Isaac said, looking into the palm of his hand; the amulet lay within it. "Wow!" Isaac said, looking up. The bird had taken flight again, and the amulet had apparently fallen from its grasp. Isaac's body was filled with relief as he held the amulet in his hand.
"Are you listening?!" The woman snapped. "What's this?!" She exclaimed, snatching the amulet from Isaac's hand.
"Hey! That's mine!" Isaac shouted.
"It's mine now. Consider it payment for your trespassing." The woman sneered, cupping it in her hand. Isaac's body trembled with rage, and he was about to lose his temper. He flung his hand outward, ready to send a Quake attack to shake things up a bit. However, before he could, a small rock fell from the second floor window above them and hit the woman on the head. The woman fell unconscious, her hand loosening around the amulet. It now lay open in the palm of her hand, and Isaac was quick to take it back.
"Merry Christmas!" A voice shouted from above.
"Thanks, Joe!" Jenna shouted up to the window.
"Your Welcome!" The voice shouted back.
"Yeah, thanks!" Isaac shouted.
"What?!" Joe shouted down.
Isaac and Jenna laughed heartily as they left the area and headed back to the inn. "Jenna, I wanted to thank you for helping me today. It meant a lot to me."
"Thanks, Isaac. It was my pleasure. You're like a brother to me, and you know it. Never hesitate to ask me for help, okay?"
"I'll keep that in mind." Isaac stated, slipping the amulet in his pocket. "Now, let's go get something to eat! I feel like I have a Garet sized appetite right about now!"
"Garet, you know I hate eggnog." Isaac grumbled, tying his golden scarf tight around his neck. "I've got it taken care of."
"I don't even think you bought it yet, did you?"
"I've got it taken care of."
"By the way, you never did fess up who your secret Santa was. Who are you buying for, anyway?!" Garet prodded.
"You'll find out tomorrow, Garet; leave me to my devices. Later." Isaac said, giving a half-farewell half-blow off wave over his shoulder. Isaac left the inn's room and quickly exited the temporary residence. He sighed as he walked down the shopping district and began browsing through windows of things. The truth was, he had no idea what to get Mia. He may have loved her and understood her better than anyone else, but he was hidebound to figure out her material desires. Mia was never one on material ownership, and she was always contented with what she had. What could he get her? He sighed, reaching a jewelry store. Why not give it a try? There might be the answer to his quandary here. He opened the door and kicked the snow from his boots before entering.
"May I help you, sir?" A clerk asked the Venus Adept.
"No. I'll be okay." Isaac replied, beginning to look at bracelets. Though there were several types of countless varieties, no armband seemed to leap out at the young lover. Each of the bracelets had their problems. . . too plain, too fancy, too extravagant, too ordinary, too expensive, too cheap. Although Isaac was willing to pay just about any sum, he could not place what he wanted. Sighing, he moved on to earrings. Again, nothing pleased his eyes; while Mia would surely like anything he got for her, nothing seemed to be special enough. He moved over to rings. Nothing special. Isaac growled to himself in frustration. Why did this have to be so hard?! He finally moved over to necklaces and amulets. The racks were again piled high in beautiful looking baubles. He fingered through each amulet until he stumbled across the most beautiful amulet he had ever seen.
It was of the shiniest of platinum, the charm large and beautiful. The charm of the amulet was in the shape of a crescent moon, and in its concave area lay a huge shining blue sapphire sphere. The moon itself was carved in with the ancient script of Mercury, while the stone seemed to glow with life and energy. The stone seemed to contain calming and rocking waters of Mercury itself. The amulet wouldn't bulge under clothes, but it was certainly large despite the fact. Isaac smiled. It was the one. Out of old thought, he pulled out his amulet from beneath his shirt.
His own amulet seemed to glow with light and life too. Mia had given him the amulet back in Imil after they revealed their feelings for each other, and Isaac never forgot that day. He'd never taken off the amulet, either. Mia later explained the amulet's full meaning, and Isaac felt it all the more appropriate to keep wearing it. It was time to return the favor to her. He smiled, stuffing his own amulet back beneath his tunic while bringing the amulet forward to the front of the store.
"Wow, that's a beautiful one, sir. For the special someone?" The man behind the counter asked.
"Yes, it is." Isaac replied, smile beaming. "She'll love it."
"I'm sure she will. That amulet's going to cost you 2500 gold coins." Isaac jumped back at the price. He could afford it, but it was still expensive. He sighed, and quickly produced the required sum from his bag of money. "Wow, not many can afford to pay for such a thing in one payment. You must be quite the adventurer."
"I've had my share of luck finding treasure."
"Well, either way, I hope your special someone likes the amulet." He said, handing it over to the beaming Venus Adept.
"She will, but there's one thing that bugs me, sir. Do you know what these writings on the moon mean?" Isaac asked, pointing them out.
"Afraid I don't, sir. I don't even recognize that archaic language."
"I see. Thank you sir." Isaac stated, slipping the amulet into his pocket. "Have a merry Christmas."
"You too, good sir." The shopkeeper waved back. Isaac left the store and headed down the street, a smile beaming on his face. Mia would absolutely adore the amulet.
"Hey, Isaac!" A female voice sounded behind him. He winced; he prayed it wasn't Mia in the off chance she may discover the amulet early. He spun around to see the deep purple eyes of Jenna. "Doing your shopping?"
"Finished it, Jenna."
"Tell me, who did you get?"
"I can't tell you." Isaac replied. "I didn't even tell Garet."
"I'd expected you to say 'Mia' rather than Garet. Does that mean what I think it means?"
"What does it mean, Jenna?" Isaac questioned.
"It means you were shopping for Mia, doesn't it?" Jenna smirked. "Don't hide it, Isaac. I've known you long enough. So, what did you get her?"
Isaac laughed. "You've got me pegged, Jenna. I'll show you as long as you keep it a secret, okay?"
"You know me, Isaac. I've never blabbed a secret to anyone before." Isaac smiled at his friend's truthfulness. He pulled the amulet from his pocket and held it out to her. Jenna looked absolutely stunned at the necklace. "Isaac. . . it's the most beautiful piece of jewelry I've ever seen! Those aren't even my favorite colors, and I love it! Mia will go nuts over it!" Jenna said in disbelief. "It's so perfect, Isaac."
"Thanks. It took a long time to find it. I'm not letting this baby out of my sight until tomorrow." Isaac stated, the amulet still in his outstretched hand. "That's right, nothing's getting a hold of it while I'm . . ." He halted as he felt a sudden tug on his hand and the loss of some mass within it. He looked down to see the amulet gone, and he looked up to see a large sea gull carrying it away in its claws. "Damn it!" Isaac shouted, chasing after the bird.
"Isaac, wait!" Jenna called to him, following her friend's pursuit.
"Rotten bird!" Isaac shouted, chasing after the bird as it lofted high into the sky, amulet still in its small talons. "I hate sea gulls! They're so annoying!" Isaac grumbled to himself, keeping pursuit close. It lighted onto a building roof, into what appeared to be a nest. There was no ladder to the roof, and it looked like a private residence.
"Great, just great." Isaac muttered, Jenna finally catching up. "It's on that roof! How do we get it down now?!"
"Stay calm, Isaac. Let's just go ask and see if the people living here would be so kind as to let us get up to the roof."
"Good plan." Isaac stated, following Jenna to the front door. The Mars Adept rapped on the door moderately hard, and the sounds of footsteps were heard approaching. The door opened, and an elderly man was at the door.
"Excuse me, sir, but may we ask a favor of you?" Jenna asked, eyes closed.
"Sure thing, Miss Knockout herself!" A familiar voice answered. Jenna's purple eyes shot open, and she caught sight of old Gil from a few days ago. "Couldn't resist old Gil, could you? I knew you'd want some of my love!" His further speech was impaired by a punch from the Mars Adept to the stomach. Gil fell to the ground passed out again.
"Pervert!" Jenna muttered to herself. "I thought I was rid of you."
"This is something I don't want to know, right?" Isaac asked.
"What?!" A voice from inside the house rang out.
"Not him, too. . ." Jenna slapped her head.
"What?!" The voice of Joe rang out again.
"Excuse me, but we need some help! A bird stole something from me and landed on your roof!"
"A curd droll from Lee and banded on Tour's hoof?!" A different voice sounded.
"Shut up, stupid!" A woman's voice shouted out. A rather large and ugly woman came to the door and stood before Isaac. "What do you want?!"
"Um, ma'am. You see, a bird stole something from me and it found its perch on your roof. I'm asking permission to go up onto the roof and grab the item."
"Let me think." The woman stated. "NO!" She slammed the door in Isaac's face, leaving him bewildered.
"Well, that went well." Isaac sighed. "All right, what's our next option?"
"A ladder." Jenna stated. "I saw the shopkeeper down the road using one." She charged down the road and came back shortly with the ladder.
"Good work, Jenna. Let's get the necklace. You hold the ladder, I'll climb to the roof and grab it." Isaac clambered up the ladder and made a grab for the roof. As he was about to climb up onto the roof, he heard a voice below him.
"I told you hooligans that you weren't allowed on MY roof!" The ugly woman yelled out the second story window. Her large and fat arms reached out form the window and shoved the ladder from beneath Isaac.
"WHOA!!!" Isaac shouted as he fell from the ladder and into a snowbank. The cold white powder broke his fall, but he was not at all pleased. "OW! Hey! That was uncalled for, ma'am!" Isaac shouted up to the woman, who doused him with a bucket of freezing cold water. "YOW!" Isaac shouted, getting to his feet, freezing his butt off. He stood shivering as he heard the window above him slam shut.
"Wow, that was really mean." Jenna said. "Hold still, Isaac. I'm going to try to dry you off." Her hands began to glow with red Psynergy, as warm heat spread over Isaac's freezing body. Soon, he could feel himself return to normal temperature, and Jenna halted with her warming process.
"Now what?" Isaac asked. "I know! A rope and hook!" He reached into the small bag at his waist and produced a large grappling hook and a long rope.
"Thank goodness for those magic holding bags, eh, Isaac?" Jenna asked.
"You know it!" Isaac replied, winging the hook to the roof and latching it around the chimney. "Here we go!" He said, shimmying up the rope. It was hard to keep climbing, but he was more than motivated to make it to the top. When he finally was about to reach the top, he could hear the voice of the woman down below on the ground. She was definitely yelling at Jenna.
"You little brat! What gives you the right to do these kinds of things? First you disobey me with a ladder and now with a rope? I hope your boyfriend's not up there because he's getting a one way ticket back down!" She yelled, pulling down on the rope with all of her weight. Isaac heard the scraping of the hook as he fell back into the snowbank he did earlier, the hook clanging onto the ground nearby.
"Ow." Isaac said, sitting up.
"And you're as bad as she is! You and your girlfriend needs to learn some manners."
"She's not my girlfriend, miss. The amulet on the roof is for my girlfriend for Christmas."
"Well, what might your girlfriend look like? You can't do any worse than this wench." She said, pointing to Jenna.
"Hey!" Jenna shouted, getting ready to throttle the woman.
"Jenna, please. Restraint." Isaac stated holding her arm back. "My girlfriend is the most beautiful girl I've ever met. She has long flowing blue hair and she wears robes of the purest white, the most soothing purple, and the most beautiful blue. Her eyes sparkle with the beauty of the sea, and her. . ."
"Enough!" The woman shouted. "I met your girlfriend the other day. Was she with some ugly guy with blue tinted glasses and sporting a black cape?"
"Must've been Triad." Isaac shrugged. "He's one of my friends."
"Your bitch of a girlfriend cost me a beautiful dress the other day."
"Excuse me?!" Isaac stated, angrily. "Mia's a lot nicer than you'll ever hope to be!"
"I'm glad your stupid present is stuck on the roof, because you'll never get it! I'll call the constable if you try to get up on my roof again." Isaac sighed. That was it. He lost the present to Mia, and there was no way to get it back. The woman's words drowned out in his mind; his mind focused on how to explain to Mia how this happened. Suddenly, a strange blow came to the top of his head, and it fell into his hand.
"What the?" Isaac said, looking into the palm of his hand; the amulet lay within it. "Wow!" Isaac said, looking up. The bird had taken flight again, and the amulet had apparently fallen from its grasp. Isaac's body was filled with relief as he held the amulet in his hand.
"Are you listening?!" The woman snapped. "What's this?!" She exclaimed, snatching the amulet from Isaac's hand.
"Hey! That's mine!" Isaac shouted.
"It's mine now. Consider it payment for your trespassing." The woman sneered, cupping it in her hand. Isaac's body trembled with rage, and he was about to lose his temper. He flung his hand outward, ready to send a Quake attack to shake things up a bit. However, before he could, a small rock fell from the second floor window above them and hit the woman on the head. The woman fell unconscious, her hand loosening around the amulet. It now lay open in the palm of her hand, and Isaac was quick to take it back.
"Merry Christmas!" A voice shouted from above.
"Thanks, Joe!" Jenna shouted up to the window.
"Your Welcome!" The voice shouted back.
"Yeah, thanks!" Isaac shouted.
"What?!" Joe shouted down.
Isaac and Jenna laughed heartily as they left the area and headed back to the inn. "Jenna, I wanted to thank you for helping me today. It meant a lot to me."
"Thanks, Isaac. It was my pleasure. You're like a brother to me, and you know it. Never hesitate to ask me for help, okay?"
"I'll keep that in mind." Isaac stated, slipping the amulet in his pocket. "Now, let's go get something to eat! I feel like I have a Garet sized appetite right about now!"