Red Hope

Lyle, Rasha, and Migel entered the city of Meden the next afternoon. They had camped halfway between the city and a town called Kirof. The group had figured that by heading on instead of stopping at the village would save them some time, and hopefully make it easier to pick up Raider's trail.

There, they saw a young boy with purple hair sitting down and crying. When Rasha asked him what was wrong, he told them a sorrowful tale. "My name is Mark. My best friend Reyna is sick, so her dad moved her to Kirof, in order to get her some better air. But even that didn't help, and medicine doesn't do much. So I promised her that I'd bring her the Hope Ruby, but no one will let me borrow it."

"What is the Hope Ruby?" inquired Lyle, "We don't live around here, and no nothing about what goes on in this city. Why is this ruby so important to your friend."

"If you drop a coin into the well, and make a wish, it will come true. But my friend can't come and see it herself, so I've got to bring it to her. I've got to go now, bye," he said.

As the boy left, Rasha and Lyle silently decided that they wanted to see the ruby for themselves. While they did that, Migel went to get some information from the castle soldiers about recent monster activity. He wanted to see if there were any clues to finding Raider.

Later on, the group met in front of the castle. Rasha had made a wish on the ruby, but wouldn't tell anyone what it was. She just gave Lyle one of her piercing smiles, and looked at him with her big eyes, as if she was trying to make a date with him.

Migel informed her, "Don't spend too much time wishing for that wish to come true. I overheard the princess talking to her advisor, they said that the ruby is a glass fake used to put money into the castle treasury. It can't really grant wishes, just some people get lucky."

Suddenly, Mark ran right past them. He was followed by a group of soldiers. Then someone began screaming that a young thief had stolen the Hope Ruby.

Lyle looked at his friends. "It must have been Mark. He's probably going to bring it to Reyna. Let us go to Kirof and ask him ourselves." Then, the three were off.

* * *

In Kirof, they found Mark. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost, and was clearly out of breath. The boy's eyes were towards the shop where Reyna and her father lived.

"Reyna's gone," he told them, "She just up and walked to the Ghost Cave by herself. It's supposed to be dangerous there, and she is too sick to even stand. How did she manage to go there, and why would she even want to? I'm going to find her."

"No you are not. We will look for her. You stay here where it's safe," scolded Rasha.

Mark exclaimed, "I can't do that! Reyna's my best friend, I'll never abandon her in her hour of need. Besides, I have something that I need to show her." He took the glass ruby out of his pocket.

Lyle looked at him. "Ok, you can come. But stay close behind the others and me, otherwise we can't protect you. There's no reason you should get hurt if we run into monsters."

They set out for the Ghost Cave. There, the guard let them in, seeing the group had weapons and seemed to be competent in battle. Then, they entered, and began to search.

The cave was a maze of stairs and corridors. Lyle was leading the way, followed by Rasha, who was using her Light spell to help them get through. Migel walked right behind Rasha, with Mark holding onto his hand so he wouldn't get lost in the dark.

Soon, the group found a pair of bridges suspending a large ravine. Migel walked out over one, but fell through to the floor below. He went back up the stairs, and joined his friends.

"Stupid, don't be hasty," ordered Rasha, "Nothing is what it seems, there is an illusion spell on this ravine. They aren't really bridges, but mirages. We cross in the middle, where there doesn't appear to be one. That is the true bridge." With that, she stepped out over the ravine, and mysteriously didn't fall. Lyle, Migel, and Mark followed her over, and soon they were on the other side.

It wasn't much longer until they had found Reyna. She was holding her head, and looked in pain. When Mark came towards her to ask if she was ok, a phantasm appeared. He knocked Mark backwards, and the boy hit a wall. Instantly, he was knocked out.

"Finally, the Hope Ruby will be mine. Give it up or die," demanded the phantasm.

Rasha aimed her Flash spell at the enemy. She yelled, "How dare you use an innocent child as a pawn in your sick game? You will be the one to die, demon." She fired off the spell, hitting him.

Lyle ran forward at the phantasm, and slashed him with his sword. "You will not gain any quarter from me or my allies." His sword penetrated the monster's form, killing it instantly.

* * *

Although Reyna and Mark were both ok, the Hope Ruby was broken. But Reyna had finally gotten better after the phantasm was killed. The group took her back to her father in Kirof. "Thank you for saving me," whispered the girl, "Can you stay here forever?"

"No, we must go to the city of Elfria," Lyle admitted.

Mark asked, "Don't you need a squirrel to get there? My daddy once told me of a squirrel woman living in the town of Belgen. It's just beyond the cave to the east, if you want to go."

So they set out for Belgen. On the way, they stopped off in Meden, and found the princess setting her country strait about the truth of the Hope Ruby. For all of their help, she allowed them to use the checkpoint in the east cave. Now, Lyle and his friends were on their way.

- - - -

I guess you all know who the squirrel is. We arrive in Belgen in the next chapter, you'll see what happens when we get there.