Chapter XXVII

Old Flames and New Friends

Dawn came, waking a reluctant Felix with bright sunlight stabbing through the inn's windows. He blinked, seeing the others were already up and slowly moving about the room.

Silently, he took stock of how much sleep he had gotten; four or five hours at best. Such was the price of his decisions.

Felix drew the blankets back, sitting up and stretching.

"Mornin'" managed Jenna, who looked just as exhausted, her red hair unusually dishevelled.

On the other hand, Sheba was already wide awake. "Finally, you're both up! Come on, let's get some breakfast and get going!"

Sheba was clearly very excited to start her adventure. Felix and Jenna, having already experienced their share of travel across Angara, were less enthused. Somewhat less sluggishly, they got up, dressed, and twenty minutes later, were out the door.

Daila was already looking better. The villagers had worked fast, clearing even more of the seawater that had flooded their streets. Not long after leaving the inn, Felix saw the two boys who had been stuck in the Shrine of the Sea God. The woman with the limp was yelling, giving the two kids hell for their delinquency, before pointing at a pool of water outside her house, and sending the two dejected boys off with buckets. And yet despite her anger, as soon as they had turned away her face softened in relief that they were both alright.

Jenna gave Felix a knowing grin. Felix couldn't deny that seeing that did make him feel better about the sleep he'd lost.

"So Felix," Kraden said. "As our now de-facto leader, have you decided where we should go next in our search for a boat?"

Felix pulled from his pocket the folded map he had 'borrowed' the night before. As they walked, he considered its contents.

"Most of the villages on here are small settlements," Felix said. "Even though a lot of them are by the coast, most are so small that any boats they have would probably be small row boats."

"Isn't Jupiter Lighthouse on the other side of the world?" Sheba asked. "I don't think we could make a trip like that in a dinghy."

"Exactly," Felix agreed. He placed his finger on the map, at the south-eastern corner of the Indra continent. "This town here, Madra, is probably our best bet. It says next to here that it's a popular stop for travellers, and they have a large fishing trade."

"And nearly on the other side of the continent," Kraden observed. "That has to be weeks from here."

"Two, if we go the long way," Felix said. "According to this, if we go through this plateau here, we can save nearly a week of travel."

"And what if this Madra place was also affected by the tidal wave?" asked Jenna.

"Then we'll keep searching until we find something," Felix said. "There has to be a boat somewhere in Weyard we can use."

They quickly finished their business in Daila, using the last of their coin to buy a few travel provisions: some sleeping bags and a tent, some tools to cook and a compass to avoid getting lost. Now that they were separated from the Proxians, they would need to take care of themselves.

They passed a blacksmith's shop, and Felix eyed the blades there, painfully aware of the fact that their party comprised of three teenagers and an old man, all unarmed.

Saturos had never allowed Felix to wield a blade larger than a cooking knife. Even from the outset, he had apparently anticipated Felix would betray him. Still, Felix had gotten in practice when he could, even using tree branches when he had to. It was no substitute for real combat, as he was well aware, but it was better than nothing.

Now, they had no choice but to head out into the wilds of Weyard with nothing but their wits, and what meagre Psynergy skills the three Adepts had between them.

As they walked down the road, Daila disappearing behind them, Felix caught eyes with Jenna, who walked beside him. She gave a reassuring nod.

It was only a few hours in before Sheba began to talk about her feet hurting.

The first day passed uneventfully. As the sun set, they found a secluded spot near the woods and set up their camp for the night.

Felix and Jenna, having the most experience from travelling with the Proxians, stepped away to find something for everyone to eat. A few minutes, and one flash of fire later, they returned.

"Dinner is served," Jenna declared, as she and Felix set the slightly-scorched fox down by the fire.

Sheba stared at the dead animal, aghast.

"What's wrong?" Jenna asked her.

"I can't eat that," Sheba said under her breath.

Kraden looked to the Adept siblings, shrugging.

"Sheba," Jenna said. "I know you're probably used to a different type of food back in Lalivero, but out here on the road-"

"It's not that," the young girl insisted. "I'm a vegetarian. I can't eat anything with a face."

Jenna, now also at a loss for words, looked to her brother.

Felix sighed. "Alright. Let's see if we can find you some forage while Jenna and Kraden make this. There's got to be some fruit or nuts or something in the woods."

The next morning, while Felix and Kraden were cleaning up the camp, the two girls stepped away to practice Psynergy.

After ensuring there were no other travellers around, Jenna focused on a boulder on the other side of the road. She gathered up her Psynergy to the extent that she could, ignoring the headache she could feel starting, and unleashed a fireball at the target. The ball of flame struck the stone, sizzling in the air, and leaving a black scorch on its face.

"That's so cool!" Sheba exclaimed.

"Thanks," Jenna said, slightly out of breath. She wiped sweat from her forehead. "What about you? I know you mentioned you can read minds. Do you know any other Psynergies?"

"Yeah I can do this."

Sheba closed her eyes, her hands going to to her temples. For a moment, nothing happened, and then she started to glow as her Psynergy gathered.

Jenna watched anxiously as the wind picked up, and the clouds above them grew heavy and dark, far faster than was natural.

"Um... Sheba?"

The small girl did not answer her. Moments later, a blast of lightning came down from the sky, striking the boulder with an ear-splitting crack. The stone split from the force, and Jenna was thrown off her feet, landing on her rear.

Kraden shouted from the edge of the woods, "What in the name of Alchemy was that?!"

Just as soon as it had started, the weather cleared. Sheba turned to Jenna, grinning and looking like she was not fatigued in the slightest, but her smile fell at the sight of the older girl's expression.

"Sorry... was that too much?"

The days passed as they travelled. Aside from two brief monster attacks, which were easily dispatched by the combined abilities of the three Adepts, little of note happened.

They quickly settled into a group dynamic. Felix and Jenna handled hunting, while Sheba gathered her own meals of mushrooms and plants in the woods. It wasn't much food for any of them, and they were perpetually hungry, but it was enough for them to continue marching.

They told one another stories while they walked, to fill the empty air. Kraden was the one who spoke the most, telling stories of both his youth, and legends from the Lost Age of man. The two siblings, having studied under him in Vale, had heard most of them already, but Sheba was an eager audience.

The young girl loved to learn anything she could about the world outside, and she frequently asked questions of the siblings about Vale, or the many locations they had passed through so far. Felix, not much of a talker to begin with, let Jenna do most of the storytelling, though he would contribute at times with his own experiences, especially with stories of their childhood.

The two girls, naturally, became fast friends, often speaking quietly with each other and giggling, to the dismay of the two men. When Felix would ask what they were talking about, they would simply say it was 'nothing important' before giggling again.

Felix found it all a welcome change from the first half of their adventure. With no angry Proxians around to bark at them to move faster, they were free to travel at their own pace, and to talk about whatever they wanted. The others clearly felt the same, rarely bringing up their now-dead travel partners. In particular, Sheba never mentioned them, and she would always grow quiet if the subject came up.

By the end of the first week, their surroundings started to change, shifting from forests and green fields to empty plains with mountains in the distance. The path they were following was one made from centuries of on-foot travel, and it led them steadily in the direction of the plateau that stood in the middle of a long mountain range.

"Dehkan Plateau," Felix read off the map in his hands. "This has to be it."

"Looks steep," Sheba said, grimacing at the hike ahead of them.

Jenna cracked her knuckles. "Let's go."

They continued on, the terrain around them quickly becoming steeper until they were nearly climbing. The path they followed had not been used it some time, it would seem, and they found a number of sudden gaps or objects in their way.

They spent most of the day making their way, bit-by-bit, up the steep landscape, before finally the land started to level out. It was a welcome reprieve from the climbing. They continued on the path, now high above the land behind them, for some time, until another obstacle presented itself.

"We can't go this way," Felix said, stopping.

The path ahead of them was blocked by a number of fallen rocks that were too large to climb over or move with Psynergy.

Jenna groaned at the prospect of more climbing. "Isn't there another way we could go?"

Kraden pointed to a smaller path to the side. "There's a tunnel over there we can try."

Felix nodded. If nothing else, it would provide shelter they could use to rest for the night.

They entered the cave, following the almost stair-like path through the narrow tunnel downwards. It led to a more open cavernous chamber, with rays of sunlight penetrating through gaps in the ceiling.

Jenna, who was walking first, gasped at the sight of the room. Felix followed, taking in the sight. Within the centre of the chamber was a pit, with something sparkling inside.

"Only one way to go," Felix muttered, stepping past his sister and taking the lead.

Making their way down, it was soon evident what was sparkling: scattered around the pit were various weapons and armour, some still containing the bleached bones of it's wearers. In the centre of the room, illuminated by a beam of light, was an untouched wooden chest.

The party stopped at the last step of the path before they would enter the pit itself.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Felix asked the others.

"That this is clearly some sort of trap?" Jenna answered.

"So... what do we do?" asked Kraden.

Felix considered. "If there's gold in there, we need it. It's worth the risk. I'll go alone."

"Felix!" Jenna hissed, gently smacking his arm. "Are you crazy?"

"It's not far," he reassured her. "I'll be careful. Just hang back and be ready with Psynergy."

Jenna didn't look convinced, but she nodded. Sheba gave Felix a determined look, already gathering her Psynergy. As for Kraden, he was useless in a fight anyway, so he started to step back up the stairs.

Felix was on edge, listening intently for any sound that would indicate movement. The cavern was hauntingly quiet, every footstep he took echoing off its wall.

He drew closer to the wooden chest, half-expecting it would spring to life and try to bite him.

But it did not move. At the side of the chest were the bones of another traveller, lying still with his sword and armour, one hand outstretched towards the chest.

Felix wondered if this person had been as careful as he was being.

He reached out carefully towards the chest, ready to pull back in a second if anything-

He saw movement. Not from the chest, but the skeleton next to it.

Felix kicked against the ground, jumping away, but he was an instant too slow. The sword swinging through the air caught his leg, and he felt a flash of pain.

He stumbled back, taking sight of his attacker in the process. It was not a human's skeleton, as he had previously thought, but some sort humanoid monster, so gaunt and pale that it resembled bones just enough to blend in with them.

The girls reacted with cries of shock, and unleashed fireballs and lightning bolts through the air at the monster. But it was fast, easily dodging the attacks, and moving in on Felix.

The Venus Adept pulled himself away, narrowly avoiding a stab of the skeleton's sword where his good leg had been seconds ago.

Felix's mind raced. He couldn't use his own Psynergy; the cavern already had holes in the roof, and any disruption could bury them all alive. He couldn't hope the girls could help in time; they didn't have weapons and the skeleton was able to easily avoid their Psynergy. So unless he came up with something quickly...

As he scrambled back, the solution quite literally fell into his hands.

The skeleton brought its sword down, and Felix countered with a blade taken from the hands of one of it's victims. He pushed back, turning the advantage against the beast, and managed to climb back to his feet.

Though Felix was no trained swordsman, it was clear that the skeleton was not either; having simply adapted to use it from mimicry of humans. The monster swung the blade in clumsy, wild swings that left it wide open to counter-attacks.

He waited for his chance, when the skeleton nearly tripped from a bad swing, and he struck, slashing the thing's sword hand at the wrist. The monster was so thin and its skin so frail that the old blade had no trouble severing it clean.

Now, with no way to attack, the skeleton turned tail and ran. But there was only one exit, so It did not get far before the girls' Psynergy reduced it to a pile of ash.

"Felix!" Sheba shouted worriedly. The blonde girl rushed to his side, with Jenna and Kraden following close behind.

"I'm okay," he said, but he soon reconsidered upon noticing the stain of blood on his trouser leg. Kneeling down, Felix used a small amount of Psynergy to mend the cut. It was deeper than he had initially thought; though he could close the wound, it would need rest to heal properly.

Perfect for rock climbing, he thought.

"Was that really worth it?" Jenna demanded, her hands on her hips, looking very much like their mother.

Felix eyed the chest in the middle of the room. "Let's find out."

Kraden, who was closest to the chest, pushed it open. The sage frowned at its contents, then bent over and withdrew a very small and pathetic pouch of coins.

After counting, Kraden said. "There's thirty-five coins in here."

"Not much," Jenna sighed.

"Enough for an inn room or two," Felix pointed out. "Or some travel provisions. We could buy some actual rations in Madra."

"I am tired of eating cooked rabbits and foxes," Jenna conceded, "and I'm sure Sheba's sick of her squirrel diet by now."

"Believe it or not, during a famine in Lalivero I once lived off of nothing but lettuce for two months," Sheba said proudly.

Felix took a look at the sword in his hand. Despite having sat in that cave for years, even decades, it was in good condition; still sharp, and not a hint of rust.

"Let's use this chance to arm ourselves," he told the others. "Having weapons will help us avoid something like that in the future. And these poor souls won't have died for nothing."

The group found themselves some usable weapons in the mess. Felix kept the longsword he had picked up, also grabbing a still-intact sheath from its old master. Jenna found a short sword she felt comfortable using. As for Sheba, who preferred avoiding direct combat and sticking to Psynergy, she armed herself with only a small staff. Even Kraden took a dagger, for the very small chance that he might need it.

Tired from the climbing, the group made their way back to the entrance of the cave, and then set up camp just beyond its mouth, taking advantage of the cover.

The next morning came and the party continued on. After climbing over the boulder which had forced their diversion, the rest was easy enough, following the path having been left by past travellers. As they went, the barren and rocky earth around them began to shift downhill, and trees began to decorate the landscape, signalling the end of the plateau.

As the group made their way down the now-sloping path, Felix's leg injury began to pain him, causing his steps to grow heavier as his leg protested against the march. By the time they were, as Kraden put it, "Beyond the boneyard," Felix was sweating with each painful step.

The landscape before them opened up. Several miles of forested fields stretched ahead, bordered by the sparkling blue expanse of the ocean. A well-trodden path was cut through the fields, and at the middle of it was a walled town surrounded by forest that could only be Madra. A few miles from the town proper was Madra's docks, where a number of ships were resting.

"What's the plan?" asked Sheba. "Do we go to the town to rest first, or straight to the docks to look for a boat?"

"Hmm," said Kraden scratching his bushy beard. "I don't think we'd have any luck at the dock anyway. It's midday, and yet none of the ships are sailing. You would think at least a few would be out fishing, but if they were, we would be able to see them from up here."

Jenna frowned. "Do you think the tidal wave destroyed their ships too?"

"We can certainly ask about it in town," offered Kraden. Turning to Felix he asked, "Does that sound good, Felix?"
But Felix, who was all but biting his tongue with each painful step, only nodded. He would have made them go to the town first either way.

As the path mostly levelled out at the bottom of the hill, Felix's walking became a bit less painful, though he wanted nothing more than to lay down in a soft bed.

A few hours later, the foursome had reached Madra proper. As they walked up the dirt path to the walled city's sole entrance, there were two guards with spears waiting; an older man with a lined face, and a younger one who appeared near Felix's age.

The two guards gave a start at the sight of them, grabbing their weapons.

"Halt!"

The Adepts stopped, confused.

"What is your business here?" the younger guard demanded.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jenna exclaimed. "We're just travellers!"

The guards exchanged looks.

Kraden stepped forward diplomatically. "We mean no harm. We just arrived from the Dehkan Plateau. We travelled here from Daila."

The older of the two guards frowned, and shook his head to the younger. "Look at them. They can't be Champans."

"I agree," the other said, deferring to his elder with just a little hesitation.

"If I might ask," Kraden offered diplomatically, "why the suspicion?"

"Forgive me, sir," said the older guard. "our town was attacked by a band of pirates."

Sheba stepped forward, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Pirates...?"

"Indeed," said the younger guard. "We were holding their captain, Briggs, in our jail. We heard he had sacked a nearby town, so our mayor was holding him for a trial."

"But before that could happen," the older man explained, "his crew staged an escape. They uncovered some ancient ruins under the city, and were able to dig a path right under our walls."

This time, it was Kraden whose eyes lit up. "Ancient ruins?"

"Yeah," said the older guard. "No one knew they were there all these years, yet those damn pirates found a way in and out right under our noses. I tried to tell the mayor it was bad business trying to hold that guy..."

"In any case, we apologise for our suspicion," said the other. "You're welcome to come and go. Please, make yourself at home."

"One last question, if you don't mind," said Felix. "Are there any other travellers staying here right now? We've been looking out for some friends of ours."

The older guard shook his head. "Nah. One or two people who arrived week or so ago. When the tidal wave hit, it destroyed all our boats, and probably did the same to every coastal town across Indra. So nobody has been here, other than those pirates."

The younger guard suddenly snapped his fingers. "There's that one guy, who we found on the beach. The one with blue hair?"

Jenna drew in a breath, and exchanged a look with Felix.

"The other pirate, you mean?" the older guard asked his companion. "The one from Briggs' crew?"

"I'm not convinced of that," the kid said. "I think that man is innocent and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"He was muttering about a ship, and he was right on the same beach the Champans were docked at. Does that sound like a coincidence?"

"Well, it isn't our place to say. That's for the mayor to figure out, isn't it?"

"In any case," Kraden cut in, "thank you both for your time. We'll be on our way."

Kraden led the way up the stairs, with the three Adepts following behind. As soon as they were out of earshot of the two guards, Jenna turned back to her brother.

"Felix, that has to be Alex! He's alive!"

"Perhaps, but I doubt it," Felix said. He walked at the end of their procession, his fists clenched as pain shot through his leg with each step. "It would be a long way for him to drift."

"We have to go see," Jenna insisted. "We have to help him out, if they have him locked up..."

"I don't know if it's him, Jenna," Kraden said gently. "Alex could teleport at will. What jail cell could hold him?"

Jenna frowned.

"Jenna I didn't realise you were so worried about Alex," Sheba teased.

"I'm not!" She turned on the other girl. "I just... look, he saved our lives at Idejima. We owe him for that."

Sheba scoffed. "Yeah, I don't know. He wasn't really being a hero when Saturos and Menardi were terrorising us. In fact, didn't he help them attack Felix? You know, when they murdered the soldiers from Tolbi that were escorting me? What a hero."

Jenna said nothing to that.

They reached the town gate, and stopped.

"I just want to go check," Jenna said. "It might not be him. If it's not, then whatever. But if it is... well, we'll see then. You don't have to come with me."

"No, I'll go," Sheba said, smirking. "If it's Alex, I can laugh at him being locked up. If it's not, then I get to see a real pirate for the first time. It's a win-win."

"Well, if nobody has any objections, I'd like to take a look at these ancient ruins," Kraden said. "We have time, and I can't pass a chance like this. Ancient ruins, right under a city! How remarkable! If it's okay, that is..."

The three of them turned to Felix for approval.

"You can all do what you want," Felix said, more irritated than he meant to sound. "I'm going to the inn to get a room. I've been in pain all morning, and I just want to lay down."

Jenna blinked, taken aback. "Felix... your leg?"

He nodded.

"Why didn't you say something?" she asked. "I'm sorry. I thought you..."

"It's fine," he told her. "I just need to rest."

Jenna nodded. The others watched with frowns as he turned and limped away, before they also separated.

Felix buried the rising guilt he was feeling from his temper. He would apologise to them later, once he felt better.

The inn was thankfully not very far from the town's entrance. Felix limped his way through the front door. The lobby was empty, save for a bored-looking bearded innkeeper, and a female cook who was busy stirring a pot of very sweet-smelling, milk-like tea.

As Felix went to the desk, he heard the sound of someone coming down the stairs, but he paid it no mind.

"How much for a room?" Felix asked.

"Four coins," said the innkeeper, yawning. "Just you?"

"I have three companions," said Felix. "They're elsewhere. But a single room will suffice."

"Very well," said the innkeeper, opening his record book. "And your name?"

"Felix," he answered.

Immediately, another voice spoke. "Felix?! Did you say Felix?!"

Felix turned in surprise, but he already recognised the voice.

It took only a single glance at his face before the other figure ran into his arms.

"You're alive!" she said, looking up at him, smiling with relief.

Felix had entirely forgotten about the pain in his leg.

Madra's jail was an unmaintained building of grey bricks off in the corner of the town. Tucked away as it was, it seemed as though it had sat unused for years before suddenly being pushed back into action, as it probably was.

A single guard stood outside when Jenna and Sheba approached the open doorway.

"You girls here to see the pirate?" he asked. "He's bored today. Maybe you two can rile him up."

"What is this, a zoo?" Jenna demanded. "That's a human being in there! Whether he's guilty of the crime he's been accused of or not, he deserves to be treated with some dignity!"

"Yeah, that's what the mayor said after some kids were throwing food at him," the guard answered. "Myself, I don't care. Throw whatever you want; just don't use rocks, I don't want to have to treat him if he starts bleeding."

Jenna stared at the guard in disgust as Sheba all but pulled her inside by the sleeve.

The jail was cold, and a broken pipe somewhere filled the room with a reverberated rhythmic dripping sound. There were only three cells inside, and one already had two people standing outside of it.

"Why don't you fess up already, pirate?" one of the two men jeered. "The quiet treatment isn't doing you any favours!"

From a single glance, Jenna could see the prisoner was not Alex. Though this man had turquoise blue hair, he otherwise looked nothing like their Mercury Adept friend. He was handsome, with a face that appeared at once both young and mature. He sat calmly in the centre of the cell, with toned, muscular arms that were crossed over his chest.

As the two girls entered, their footsteps echoing quietly, the man opened his eyes, giving them a quick glance; they were a piercing copper-like gold.

The other two men in the jail paid them no mind. "Oh look, he's awake after all," said the one who stood at the edge of the bars.

The other, who was hanging back near the wall, was more hesitant. "Come on Shin, do we really need to do this?"

The first man, Shin, glared at his friend. When he turned around back to the cell, he swayed slightly, and Jenna caught sight of a nearly-empty bottle in his hand.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, you son of a bitch?!" Shin demanded. When he stepped forward, there was a quiet splash at his boot; the dripping had caused a small puddle to gather on the floor.

The blue-haired man sighed. In a very calm, measured voice, he answered, "I have told you already: I'm no pirate. And I had nothing to do with what happened to your town..."

"Liar!" Shin shouted. "How else did you end up on that beach, surrounded by pieces of the Champan ship, huh?"

"My own ship was thrown off course by the tidal wave," the prisoner answered patiently. "I saw the other ship being struck, so I went to help. I had no idea they were pirates. Before I could do anything, I was taken by the tide, and when I woke up, I was surrounded by your people."

"And where is this ship of yours, huh?" Shin demanded.

"I don't know at the moment," the man said. "It will end up docked nearby, if you would take me from here, I'm sure I could find it and prove-"

Shin threw the bottle in his hands at the prisoner. In his state, his aim was poor and he missed the man's head, his intended target. But the poor prisoner wound up with the remains of the drink splashed on his clothes.

Regardless, Shin laughed, taking a drunken step back, and nearly slipping on the wet floor. His friend caught him, steadying him.

"Jenna," Sheba whispered anxiously. Whatever amusement the younger girl had come here for, she wasn't getting it.

"Hang on," Jenna whispered back. "There's something about him..."

"That's enough," the other man tried to say, but Shin gave him a hard shove.

"It's enough when I say it is!" Shin shouted. "It wasn't your wife who got hurt when those bastards attacked! I want to see some justice!"

"Please, listen to your friend," the prisoner gently urged. "I'm sorry for what happened to your wife, but please; I had nothing to do with it. The best thing you could do right now is sober up and be there for her."

That was the wrong thing to say; Shin spat at the ground and looked in at the cell with burning eyes. Were it not for the iron bars between them, he probably would have tried to kill him.

"I'm gonna cheer when they hang you," Shin said coldly.

The man in the cell said nothing, casting his golden eyes on the ground. He looked deeply sad.

"My wife and I will dance on your grave," Shin continued, smirking as he imagined this, "and we'll go to Champa and find your whore mother, and then I'll-"

He was cut off as a burst of energy filled the room. The two girls' gasps were inaudible at the sound of ice snapping from the water on the ground. Shin was lifted off his feet, a block of ice pinning him to the wall opposite the cell.

"My mother is not in Champa," the man in the cell said, still as calm as ever, "but either way, I will not allow you to speak that way about her."

Then, the ice dissipated, and Shin was dropped to the ground. He stared in disbelief back at the man in the cell, let out a few shallow breaths, and then took off in a stumbling run towards the exit.

Jenna and Sheba stepped aside as Shin, who seemed to not even notice them, fled the scene.

The other man turned back to the prisoner, terrified. "How did you do that...?!"

"You should go help him," he suggested.

"You're a monster!" the man shouted, before running after his companion.

The prisoner bowed his head, looking deeply ashamed.

Jenna gave a quick look to Sheba, who nodded. Then, the two girls approached the bars of the cell.

The man looked to them as they drew near. "Have you two come to throw things at me and call me a monster, as well?"

Jenna stood at the edge of the bars, holding out her hand, palm facing up. A small flame flickered in her grasp.

"If you're a monster," she told him, "then so am I."

The man looked, wide-eyed at the two of them. He climbed to his feet, approaching the bars. "Are you...?!"

At the sight of them, his expression fell just so slightly. "No, you aren't. You're like me... just different."

"What's your name?" Sheba asked him.

"Piers," he answered.

"You're definitely not a Champan pirate," Jenna said. "Where are you from?"

Piers considered, but he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I can't answer that right now. All I can say is I'm from somewhere far from here."

"Fair enough," Jenna said.

"This isn't right," Sheba insisted. "You don't belong here; you haven't done anything wrong."

"I agree, but the gods have seen fit to punish me, it would seem," Piers said heavily.

"Why are you tolerating this?" Jenna asked him. "With your Psynergy, you could easily escape from this cell. Why are you letting these people treat you this way?"

"Psynergy," Piers repeated, smiling slightly for the first time. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Jenna blinked. "What?"

"To answer your question," Piers explained calmly, "these people have suffered enough of late. Even if I am able to escape, I won't contribute to their woes."

"But you heard what that guy said," Sheba pointed out. "They might execute you for this."

Piers considered, then shrugged. "If that is to be my fate. But I have faith their sense of justice will come through, and they will do what is right. I have to believe that."

The two girls exchanged looks.

"I don't know," Jenna said, making her way down the road back towards Madra's inn. "If he doesn't want our help, there isn't really anything we can do. Like he said, he could easily escape on his own if he wanted to. He's allowing himself to be a scapegoat."

"It's not right," Sheba said, following just behind the other girl.

"I agree," Jenna said. "But sometimes in life there's just nothing you can do."

"Well I don't believe that's the case here," Sheba insisted.

The two girls found themselves at the entrance to the recently-excavated ruins by Madra's north-east wall: a hole in the ground with a stepladder protruding from within, guarded by a few ropes and hastily erected wooden posts.

A familiar-looking sage was standing nearby, animatedly chatting with a young man with sandy-blonde hair and red robes.

"Ah, girls!" Kraden said, upon spotting them. "Mister Madra, allow me to introduce Jenna and Sheba, my two-"

"Granddaughters?" the young man guessed.

"-travel companions," Kraden finished, dejected.

"Mister Madra?" asked Jenna, politely shaking the young man's offered hand. "Were you named after the town?"

"I'm Madra the eighth, actually," he answered bashfully. "So it's the other way around. The town was founded by my great-great-grandfather, leaving out a few 'greats' for brevity's sake. We've all been mayors, and now its my turn."

"You look kinda young to be a mayor," Sheba blurted out. She ignored the pointed look Jenna gave her.

"Trust me, I agree," the mayor said with a smile. "But my father wanted to retire, and nobody else ran. So now I'm Mayor Madra and he is Elder Madra. Just the way things go, you know?"

"We were just discussing the ruins beneath the town," Kraden explained.

"Indeed," Madra said. "A hopeful bright spot in all the chaos that's come up lately. Once we can sail again, I'd like to have an expert from Tolbi come survey these ruins. There might be some profit to be made for the town if there are treasures or relics inside."

"Ah yes, an expert from Tolbi," Kraden said under his breath. "Where could one find one of those? Ah, well..."

"So your boats were damaged by the tidal wave too?" Jenna asked.

"I'm afraid so, Ma'am," the mayor said. "We won't be sailing for some time, unless the deal with Alhafra works out."

"Deal?"

"I'll be leaving for Alhafra tomorrow morning," he explained. "Rumour has it there is a new ship that was recently completed, which can sail using only the power of the wind."

Sheba tilted her head, inquisitively. "With the wind?"

"I'm not sure exactly how it works, but it doesn't need a crew of oarsmen to row it," the mayor said. "Instead it somehow uses the wind blowing behind it, and that somehow pushes it through the water. Exciting stuff."

Kraden was listening, thoughtfully scratching at his beard. "Interesting. I've seen proposed designs for such a ship, but none has ever been commissioned before."

"Having a ship like that would be a great asset for Madra," the young man said. "We would no longer have to fear attacks from pirates if we had a ship that could sail circles around them."

Jenna gave him a searching look. "Pirates like Piers, you mean?"

Suddenly caught off-guard, the fair-haired mayor glanced around nervously. "So you've met him?"

"We have," Jenna said. "You're holding an innocent man."

Turning back to Jenna, Madra said under his breath, "Between you and me, I think Piers is innocent too. But I have a position of authority here, and I can't allow my personal feelings to dictate my decisions."

"You have an obligation to stay impartial," Kraden suggested.

"Yeah," he replied. "If I were to declare his innocence and free him, I would lose the trust of my people. So I need proof that he's not part of Briggs' pirate crew. And the only place I can get that is from Briggs himself."

"Who has fled, probably back home to Champa by now," Sheba said.

"I don't think so," the mayor explained. "From what I can tell, once the pirates had freed Briggs, they were about to sail away on their ship, but the tidal wave hit and destroyed it. There was only one place they could have gone after that: over the land bridge to Osenia, towards Alhafra."

"You think Briggs went after the wind ship, too?" Jenna asked.

"That's what I'm going to Alhafra to find out."

Sheba looked confused. "But I thought you wanted to buy the ship for Madra?"

"A little A and a little B," the mayor said. "Normally I wouldn't be able to make a long trip like that just to prove the innocence of one man. But because of what happened to our docks, the rumours of a wind-powered ship are enough that I can get away with it. And if the ship does turn out to exist... hopefully Alhafra's mayor is kind enough to sell it to us on credit. If not, well we might be able to at least get a confession out of Briggs."

"Sounds like you got your work cut out for you," Jenna said.

The tired-looking mayor let out a sigh. "Indeed. It's been one thing after another for our little town lately. My father - the elder, that is - is pushing me to strike up business deals with other towns, but really I just want to get that innocent man out of my jail and find a way to keep Madra safe in the future."

"Well," said Kraden, "I think we had best be going. I'm sure you have a lot of preparing to do, if you'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Thank you, master sage," the mayor said. "Best of luck to you all."

They said their goodbyes, and then the mayor left, headed for a two story house on a hill at the north-west side of the town. The two girls walked with Kraden the other way, towards the inn, telling him what they had seen on the way.

"So Piers was the man being held, not Alex?" Kraden asked. "And he's an Adept?"

"And he has a boat," Jenna said. "He wouldn't say where he was from, but I think he could be a potential ally. We should help him."

"Hmm," Kraden considered. "What if his mission is at odds with ours? Like Isaac and his companions?"

"I'd help Isaac too, if we were locked up for something he didn't do," Jenna insisted.

Kraden gave her a knowing look, and she averted her eyes, trying to hide a blush.

"In any case, let's discuss the situation with Felix," Kraden said. "Hopefully he's feeling better now."

They arrived at the inn, checking with the innkeeper which room Felix had for them.

"Felix, eh?" the innkeeper said, grinning through his bushy beard. "Guess he's popular with the ladies."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jenna asked.

"Well you aren't the first young redhead here looking for him," the man laughed. "Looks like you have some competition, young lady."

"Ew!" Jenna exclaimed.

"They're brother and sister!" Sheba all but shouted.

Kraden frowned. "Someone else was looking for Felix?"

They went upstairs and found the room. Inside, Felix was sitting at the edge of one of the beds. He was so deep in thought, that it took him a moment to notice they had arrived.

"Oh. Hey, everyone," he managed.

They all sat down and explained the situation with Piers to Felix, who quietly listened.

"I think we should go to Alhafra," Sheba said.

"Indeed," Kraden added. "Even if there is nothing we can do help this young man, Alhafra is still one of the largest trade hubs in Weyard. Surely there is a boat there we can use."

Felix was silent for a while, before answering, "Yeah. Let's do that."

Jenna couldn't help but notice how uncharacteristically distracted he was.

"Felix," she asked him. "What happened? The innkeeper said there was some girl here asking for you?"

Felix looked at her, his eyes unusually heavy. "It's... complicated."

Sheba and Kraden exchanged uncertain looks, but Jenna leaned closer, forcing her brother to look her in the eyes.

"No more secrets, right? Isn't that what we agreed on?"

"It's not that," he said quietly. "I'll tell you. I just... need some time."

Felix turned away from them, but he could not hide from Jenna the pain in his eyes.

A/N: Greetings, friends! I'm finally here with the 2nd chapter of the 2nd part of the story! Let's get into my usual thoughts.

The short scene of the party leaving Daila was the original ending of the previous chapter, but I ended up moving it here because it felt weird to have Felix and Jenna go back to bed just to end the chapter on a short scene. So I decided to cut it after their talk and move the resolution (seeing the boys and their mom reunited) to the beginning of this one.

Sheba being a vegetarian was a late addition, so late in fact that I had to revise the previous chapter after release to add a line where he asks the others if they want the shrimp that came with her rice. It's a small thing, but I think it helps reflect both her personality, and the sheltered upbringing she had.

I wasn't going to feature the Dehkan Plateau originally, but after some consideration I decided to include an abridged version of it. My original outline was going to have the party essentially starting the chapter by arriving in Madra, with maybe a short travel scene if I needed some extra time in the chapter. I decided that this felt too abrupt, even with the optional travel scene, so I decided to include both the short section of them leaving Daila, some travel, and the events before and at the plateau to provide some extra character development before we go right to the next big story event.

A monster battle was necessary either way, for reasons I'll explain in a bit. I was originally considering having them fight one of those goblin guys, but decided that was too generic, so I went with the skeleton. Still generic, perhaps, but I liked the idea of having it be a monster that evolved to mimic the appearance of human bones, rather than a typical reanimated skeleton, as is typical. That led to the idea of the fake-out trap, which I quite enjoyed.

I once again did some of my signature geography-fudging. In the original game, as I'm sure you all remember, Madra is a little ways south from the exit of the plateau; you have to go past Piers' ship and the Indra Cavern, and go around several rivers and over some bridges before you get there. I changed this up a bit, having Madra only a few hours walk from the plateau and having the ship unseen (it is docked somewhere else, still nearby, just not within eyesight of the characters). This was necessary to preserve a few of the choices/reactions of the characters.

For instance, if the party saw a Lemurian ship docked right outside the town, they would think it was Isaac's ship, since they never saw another one at Idejima, and they would skip over the town entirely. Since they have to stop here for story reasons, this means there can be no ship outside. Therefore, Piers' ship is docked somewhere else (which we will see later).

The reason for the monster battle, aside from a way for the party to get weapons, was for Felix to have an injury that would give him a reason to be cranky and want to go right to the inn to rest while Kraden and the girls actually progress the story. This, of course, is so he can run into that mysterious person who recognized his name and ran into his arms. And who could that be...? Well I'm sure everyone knows, it is pretty obvious. But still, indulge my sense of mystery a little.

Moving on from that, I was really glad to finally write Piers in the story. After a long 27 chapters, all eight Adepts are finally here! I've written Piers in other fics before, but I decided to approach him a little differently this time, and it turned out to be more fun than I expected. He ended up feeling very similar to Alex, but instead of thinking himself better than everyone else, he is very humble.

In the first part of the Piers scene, I changed Shin's relationship with the item shop girl to her being his wife rather than his girlfriend. I feel like it makes the fact that she was hurt, and his intense desire for justice for that, feel like it has more weight this way. I considered having a line where he asked Piers if the Champan pirates would have "had their way with her" if he hadn't caught them during the attack, but I decided it was going a bit too far. While this fic might have much darker elements than the original games (including a man drinking and calling for another to be hanged), alluding to something like that just feels like too much for a story that was originally on a Nintendo-published Gameboy Advance game.

On a lighter note, I wanted to give the mayor of Madra a name, so that I wouldn't have to go to the effort of referring to him as "the mayor of Madra". Since he'll be sharing scenes in the future with the mayor of Alhafra, it would get redundant fast to constantly be mentioning "the mayor of this" and "the mayor of that". Still, as I don't like inventing names for existing characters unless there's some kind of precedence or at least a joke I can make of it (see the name I gave the ship captain back in chapter 19). So I decided to just make him the latest in a long line of men named Madra. I'm going to have to do something similar with the mayor of Alhafra, but also naming him after his town doesn't feel right, so if there's a name you want to suggest, leave it in a comment and I might use it :P

Next chapter: Another desert?!