Gunner's Gift

After arriving at Narsala, Lyle began to lead his friends to his own house. Soon, they arrived at a large mansion, with several smaller hoses where servants lived. They went to one of these homes, and the young swordsman knocked on the door. "Mother, it's me, Lyle. I've brought some friends over to see you and spend the night. There's also something I would like to ask you about."

A woman of about forty-five came to the door. She had her son's black hair and brown eyes, as well as his twinkling eyes. Madeline Kenjutsushi was wearing her maid's uniform, which consisted of a black dress, black heels, a white apron, and a white kerchief for her hair. And she was extremely happy to see her son. So happy, in fact, that she wasted no time showering him in hugs and kisses.

"Oh my baby boy," the woman exclaimed, "You've finally come home to mommy. Let me take a look at you, oh how you've grown up, and it's only been three months since I last saw you. I bet the girls are just going wild for you. Which one of these two beauties is the one that's stolen your heart away."

"Mother, please, you're embarrassing me. These are my friends, Sierra, Jacob, and Sasha. Oh, and Kyoku the Wind Mouse, who lives in Sierra's backpack, but she won't be out until there's food to be eaten, or her assistance is needed in solving a puzzle we find in an old ruin of some sort. And no, neither of the women here are my girlfriends, they're unwilling to take note of my advances," Lyle replied. When he mentioned each name, he pointed to his comrades. With the girls, he also flashed them a winning smile, as if to begin to flirt with them. Sierra scoffed, and Sasha turned away.

Madeline told them, "Well, now that we're all acquainted, let's go inside. My mistress has retired for the night, and I was just beginning to make myself some dinner. I'll cook the four of you up something as well, you probably are hungry after such a long journey. Come on in, don't be shy."

* * *

Sierra looked up from her food. "That was delicous, ma'am. So, tell me, if you're as sick as Lyle claims you are, then why are you working in a great mansion such as this? Surely the lady of the house knows of your problems, and is giving you special treatment because of them."

"Sierra!" scolded Kyoku, "That was really rude! She doesn't need to be reminded of her flaws, it might just offend certain people. Why don't you ever learn to control what you say to others?"


"It's ok, she was just curious. Well, to tell you the truth, my husband saved the life of the master of the house a few years back, at the expense of his own. He saw how hard it was for me to support myself and my son, so he took me on as a maid for his wife. Now, even though Lyle is bringing home survival money for me, he still keeps me on, as he worries about what'll happen if Lyle is hurt in some way on his travels. Thus, I've got this job to keep me living, as well as a store of money in case I am ever unable to continue working. My sickness isn't too bad, I can work under most conditions. But in the heat or late at night, I am prone to fainting spells," she told the female Silver Wolf.

Lyle added, "I must do all that I can for my mother, she's the only family I've got. And I really miss her when I'm on my travels. That's one of the reasons I brought all of you here. The other is one that might help us. Is Father's old journal still left up in his room, mother?"


Madeline nodded. "Yes, I never got rid of it. There's bound to be some ruins written in it that will help you kids out greatly. If you want, I can get it for you. You can probably find at least one place that will be of interest to people like you, and you reasons for fighting." She left the room, and went upstairs. When the woman returned, a book and a Machine Gun were in her hands.

"Father's journal," stated Lyle, "The place where he wrote all of his most valuable secrets in. There's got to be information about a Guardian Sanctuary somewhere inside, as Sasha and Jacob said the Guardians are our only hope. But, mother, why did you bring out that old ARM."

"You said your friend was a gunner, so I figured she would be able to fight with it. With the death of your father, this thing has just been collecting dust. At least in her hands, it will be able to fight against the demons once more," Madeline answered. She handed the gun to Sierra.

Lyle told his mother, "Well, I'll take some time to read through it. I'd better show the others to their rooms. We'll spend the night here, and move on to our next destination in the morning. Once I've got a clearer image of where in the world we are supposed to be going."

* * *

All that night, Lyle read page after page of his father's journal. Jacob, who was sharing his room, was fast asleep. The candle began to burn low, as the hours began to tick away. It was well past the hour of midnight when at last he closed the book. An idea had come to him, a small one, but an idea none the less. Now, he'd have to tell the others when they woke up once more.

* * *

The next day, the whole team had assembled to hear Lyle's announcement. "When reading Father's journal, I found out about the existence of a shrine in the middle of a desert on a continent east of Baskar. He called it the 3-Way Shrine, as there are three paths, and three pillars to three different Guardians located inside. Apparently, they are higher powers, that might prove useful."

"Degenos of the Mountain, Iona Paua of Saint, and Ge Ramtos of Death," Jacob told him, "These Guardians haven't been seen in a long time. It would be great fortune for us if we were to find them. We'd probably have even greater powers than the heroes of a thousand years ago."


"So it's decided. We'll hire a ship and head there right away. And once done, we'll go back to Baskar to see if Marco has any more information for us on the locations of Guardians," Sierra said.

They thanked Madeline for the food and room, and then left the house. After getting a ship in Marsala, the team began to set sail for this new continent. Hopefully, these Guardians wouldn't be in the shape of the High Guardians, and could be of some help to the four Silver Wolves.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

My old man's rushing me, dang sister needs it for her homework. She had time after school, but her boyfriend was over. I so can't wait until I get the laptop I was promised.