Crossroads

Lyle and Sierra arrived at the ruins not too much later. A forest had grown up around it, making the journey a little bit treacherous, as forest demons were often stronger than those in the fields. But they were able to arrive safely, and prepared to go in. There was just one problem, though. The foreman of the operation wasn't anywhere in site. It was almost as if he had been scared away by the monsters or something. Not that something like that mattered, all they needed to do was get inside.

"The door is locked," Kyoku noticed, "But I see a pair of switches on the ground. Maybe, you have to step on them at the same time. That must be why any Silver Wolf who wished to come here had to bring a partner. Meaning, I could have been your partner all along."


Sierra didn't chide Kyoku, or tell her not to rub it in. She and Lyle stepped on the switches, and the door opened. Then, the two humans and one Wind Mouse entered the ruins. Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them. Apparently, the switches were only good for a finite amount of time, as the gates to the city were closing once more, trapping the trio inside for who knows how long.

"Well, I guess we're stuck. We can find our way out later, though. I suggest we continue to search out the treasures, and then come back. Maybe after a little treasure has been cleaned out, we will have a clearer head about the situation," suggested Sierra. They then began to head deeper into the ruins, looking for whatever had survived the destruction of this once powerful city.

* * *

Sasha exclaimed, "Two switches! Jacob, we've got to step on them at the same time. When the remnants of Adlehyde were sealed by Prince Rudolph, he added this little device to keep thieves out. If the secret was only known to him and his kin, then they could come back to claim their secrets once the commotion had died down, and the Shaman's innocence had been proven."


Jacob smiled at her. "Yeah, I can't believe that a Guardian worshipping kingdom like Adlehyde was blamed for that demon. People all just panicked and the only people who believed that they weren't doing such a thing were the people of Baskar. I wish others could hear the truth as well, someday. It's a good thing that they think the people of Neo-Adlehyde are just a team of sorcerer's who used the name of the ancient kingdom to proclaim the powers they had, since the original kingdom was always known for Crest Sorcery. I laugh, people still don't know that Shamans are innocent, even though they've found out that Crest Sorcery isn't the magic of demons, but of the elements themselves."

They stepped on the switch, and went inside. Like with Lyle and Sierra, the doors closed behind them. Jacob began to panic, he was worried that he'd be trapped in this dungeon for all eternity. Sasha just watched him, and scoffed at the overreacting worries the boy was showing.

"There's a way out," she told him, "All you've got to do is step on the switches on the inside. That'll open the door to the outside world. Prince Rudolph wanted thieves to panic, and not be able to think strait. I guess his plan worked, but not in the way he would have hoped. Let's keep on going, there might be a document somewhere around here that will proclaim my people's innocence."

They continued onwards, fighting monsters all the way. Suddenly, a noise was heard from up ahead. Jacob panicked, and jumped into Sasha's arms. The sorceress/princess threw him to the ground with a look of disdain in her eyes. Where in the name of Justine did this boy get it from? The priests of Baskar were supposed to be brave and true, not scared cats like Jacob.

"Jacob, can you check up ahead? I mean, it's not nice to make a lady look into whatever might be coming around the corridor. And you're a gentleman, so it should be you who goes, Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," she stated. To further prove her point, Sasha shoved Jacob further on in, towards the direction the sound came from, and then began to follow him.

* * *

Lyle knew he was hearing a voice. One look at his allies told him that they had heard it too. Sierra was loading her ARM with new bullets, and Kyoku had a vicious look on her face. They were ready to fight whatever was waiting for them. He said, "I will be the one to go ahead and check it out. If I do not come back, then I want you to run, Sierra. There is nothing less chivalrous than sending a maiden to her death by a horrible monster. But, Sierra, remember me when I am gone." Then, he began to walk back the way they had come, searching for the beast that was roaming the corridors.

Sierra sweatdropped. 'What a wacko, I don't need a protector. I'd better check to see if he is ok. No telling what this monster might do. There's nothing to worry about, I'll always have my ARM to protect me from demons, I'm not gonna die right here.' She then began to follow Lyle down the corridor, towards the direction that they'd heard the monster's voice.

"Sierra," whispered Lyle, "You shouldn't follow me. What if it's dangerous out there, and I fail to be able to protect you? I could never forgive myself if you got hurt."

"Chill, I'm not gonna kick the bucket. You haven't seen exactly what I can do with this ARM of mine, it's not a pretty sight if you are a monster," Sierra replied.

Suddenly, Lyle bumped into something. The creature was humanoid, and about his size. At that moment, the swordsman let out a scream. So did the monster. Then, a female sounding scream came from behind the thing Lyle had bumped into. Followed by Kyoku. Soon, four screams were lighting up the ruins, the only person not in a state of panic being Sierra.

She thought, 'These screams are just too human to be demon. Ten to one they're adventurers like us. And Lyle claims he's a real warrior, he sounds like no more than a baby here. But it's kind of fun to hear him scream, he sounds just like a little girl when he does that.' She giggled, causing three human heads and one Wind Mouse head to look at her as if she was crazy.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

And the gang finally meets. In a humorous way too. We've got big surprises in store for the next chapter. Coming up, the treasure room, and Sasha finds something of great value to her people. And, rivals who are here to annoy the heck out of our heroes.