Ah, when you can't get online for two whole days and so called "barrow" your older brothers phone line you can't get much done (especially when he says "I'm expecting a phone call" really agitates you.). Oh well, Can't get to bed early so I'll just keep on writing!
Chapter 6: Trouble in Vault.
After we left Vale the next day and acquiring the Venus Djinni named Flint, we headed off towards the next town, Vault. It took us about an hour or two's walk from Vale to get the village in sight. Of course we had run into a couple of monsters, and we also had to wait for Garet to beat one on his own since he wanted to prove himself (He and Amiko had gotten into a "contest" and had to see who could do it better.) to everyone.
To be honest, leaving Vale wasn't so bad, so far. But when I go to bed tonight, I know that I'll miss being in my bed and in my room with Mom. By, hey, that's life and you got to take it as it comes!
"Isaac, look, someone's leaving Vault!" Garet pointed out, pointing at the wagon heading over the bridge in the south.
"Yeah. Guess they need to be somewhere-they looked like they were in a hurry!" It was a good thing we were only about fifteen minutes away from the village. Thank goodness, my feet are already starting to kill me! Help me lord!
"...And so, I win!" Amiko jumped around, poking Garet, singing 'You owe my 20 coins!' as she did so. I shook my head, laughing a bit. I could tell this would be longer with those two then I hoped it would be.
"Something's coming, Isaac." Kanata warned, nodding at the southern bridge.
"Wasn't that the same...?" I covered my eyes as one if the wagons zoomed by right in front of me.
"That was a close one, Isaac!" Garet commented as he stared after them, dumbfounded.
"Can we go in the village now?" Amiko asked, tugging at my scarf.
"Oh, right... Let's... go."
We looked around the village, seeing where everything was so we could find anything we need if, or whenever the time called for its aid.
"I want to go and visit the Mayor!" Amiko said excitedly, running off towards the flight of stairs. I smiled and followed after her, but stopped to look when I had thought I felt something. Looking behind me, nothing was there, just the beat-down pathway from home.
"Isaac? Is anything wrong?" Garet asked. I looked back ahead and noticed that he'd stop and waited on me. Shaking my head in response, I continued onward where Kanata and Amiko had already headed into, the Mayor's home.
"Isaac, can you come over here?" Kanata asked, "I'd like you to meet someone." I nodded and both Garet and myself walked around the table and over to Kanata and Amiko, who were with a young boy with short, messy blonde hair and purple eyes.
"Isaac, this is Ivan and he's from Kalay!" Amiko introduced.
"Erm... Hello, Isaac. And who might you be?" Ivan questioned, looking over at Garet.
"My name's Garet!"
"I figured that out by now." Ivan said, sweatdropping.
"Err... how, exactly?" I asked, tilting my head a bit.
"I read you're friend's mind to know his name."
Kanata smiled slightly, "Ivan's Psynergy skills come from the wind, allowing him to read other people's minds." Garet blinked and scratched his head.
"I think that I get it." He said, sighing slightly. "Anyways what's the hold up? What are you doing in a peaceful village like this at times like these?" He asked, poking the younger Adept.
"Garet, I wouldn't expect him to know what happened back home at this very minute." I said, swatting Garet's away from Ivan. "I'm sorry about this. Is there anything that's troubling you?" I asked, smiling a bit. Ivan nodded in response.
"You see, whenever Mt. Aleph erupted, Master Hammet's Rod was stolen and I was to stay behind and find it, but I haven't had any luck lately." He explained, looking down at the floor.
"Then, would you like us to help you out any?" I asked casually. It was true that we were chasing two Fire and one Water Adept, but it wouldn't hurt to stop and help the needing for now, at least. Besides, I couldn't help but be polite to Ivan. It was like we've known each other for years on end and yet we've only met. It wasn't only the natural thing to do but it was something that I liked to.
"Then shouldn't we get going before the thieves decide to leave the village?" Amiko asked, heading off towards the door. I nodded and followed Garet and Kanata to the door, Ivan at my side.
Outside we glanced around and looked for any people that might seem a little... out of place. As far as I could tell, everyone seemed in place. Not one person looked gothic enough to be the thief who stole the rod.
"Hey, there's a Gothic!" Garet said, pointing up one the man sitting on the ledge.
"Shh! Not so loud, dope!" Amiko commented, waving Garet to quiet down. We all hurried over to him as quietly as we could, not daring to go another 10 feet away from him.
"Hey, Ivan, maybe you should act as if you're just passing by and read his mind." I suggested, whispering the idea over to him.
"Are you sure that it'll work? His guys are afraid of me, as well as himself." Ivan replied, looking up at me with a worried expression. I smiled to reassure him that everything would be just fine. Ivan nodded and quietly walked along the path.
I noticed that the gothic watched him as Ivan walked towards him, but what he didn't notice was that Ivan had quickly used a Mind Read as he pasted. Finding out what all was necessary; he turned around and ran back to us.
"What is it Ivan?" Kanata asked, walking up to the adept. "Have you found something out?"
After stopping to catch his breath, Ivan nodded. "Yes, I found out that him and his two friends were the ones that stole everything."
"Then where should we start looking for his two goons?" Garet asked, looking around. He stopped for a moment and gazed at the Inn's broken roof.
"What's up, Garet? Did you notice something?" I asked, walking up to my friend. Garet glanced at me and nodded slightly.
"Yeah, there was a villager on the Inn's roof and now there's a hole where he was standing." Garet replied, pointing at the roof.
"Looks like we might have a winner, then." Amiko commented. "And it seems like Garet was finally useful for something as well."
"Hey!" Garet was ready to hit Amiko upside the head, but he knew better. Amiko started to laugh a bit and jumped off of the ledge. We all followed her down the stairs and began the short trip to the village Inn.
"Hello, welcome to Vale Inn. How can we help you today?" The innkeeper greeted cheerfully as we walked in.
"We're not exactly planning to stay here, but thank you for the offer in staying." I said, waving as we walked by her and ran up the stairs.
As the other two gothics came into view, they saw us and hid behind the beds. Garet shook his head in fake sympathy. Kanata began to advance towards them, but they refused to stay still and kept running away, showing great endurance in doing this hide and seek task.
"This is stupid." Garet commented as he walked up and began to help Kanata out. However, Garet's idea in helping Kanata out wasn't just following them calmly. I sighed as he began to chase them and at times he jumped and tried to catch one, put only succeed in landing face first onto the floor.
"Do you think that he'll be alright?" Ivan asked, looking up at me. I looked down at him and smiled.
"Of course he will. Garet's just a goof--He'll try to get you laugh no matter what it takes. He's strong, yes, but he's just a huge softie and wants everyone to feel happy." I replied, watching as Garet finally managed to corner one of the gothics.
"Ivan, you should be the one to look into their minds." Amiko suggested as she sat down at the small table. Ivan looked back at her and nodded, walking over to Garet who was now struggling to keep the gothic at bay for Ivan.
Ivan stopped in front of the gothic that Garet held and closed his eyes, Psynergy waves surrounding him in a purple light, showing the Adepts that he was using his Psynergy.
"Wh-What's he doing?" The gothic asked, a bit afraid.
"Shut up and behave or I'll have to knock you cold!" Garet commented, making the thief silent.
Ivan nodded, opening up his eyes as the purple lights faded away.
"What did you learn, Ivan?" Kanata asked.
"They're the ones, just as I thought that they were. The goods are in this Inn, but we just have to figure out where." Ivan replied, looking back at Kanata and then me.
"H-How do you know? We didn't even tell you!" The gothic exclaimed.
"Put a sock in it!" Garet said, hitting the gothic on the head.
Amiko slid out of the chair and started downstairs, "Then we should go on and start looking. Maybe it has something to do with the hole in the roof?" She wondered aloud.
"It might be in there, who knows." I said, following Amiko.
We all went outside and looked up at the hole in the roof. It wasn't very big, bit it seemed like we would be able to squeeze through it all right. The young lady standing in front of the ladder sighed and moved to sit down on one of the crates.
"Where could that idiot of a repairmen be...?" She wondered. I walked up to the ladder and started climbing it, wanting to get the repairmen out safely as well as getting back all of the stolen goods.
Whenever I got inside, I used 'Move' to move the empty box out of the way and waited for everyone else. I knew that they had felt that same way and would follow, and surely they did. As soon as Amiko got down from the ladder, I went on ahead, stepping over the hole in the floor.
"Do you think that everything will be in the next room or something?" Garet asked as we walked over to the next room.
"What else would you expect to find? The Elemental Stars?" I teased as I looked around. I then noticed that the repairmen we had seen whenever we arrived into the village tied up. I walked over, unsheathed my sword and cut the ropes off of him and his hands. He removed the handkerchief from his mouth and stood up.
"Thank you very much. I don't know how much longer I would be able to stand being tied up the way I was." He said. He looked around the room and finally noticed the crates.
"Hmm... These crates weren't here before," He said, eyeing them as if they held something threatening, "Do you suppose these are the stolen goods that everyone is talking about?" he asked.
"So what if they are." Said a new voice. We all turned around and saw all three of the Goths walk in.
"Oh brother, it's the idiot gang." Garet muttered loud enough for them to hear.
"You'll be sorry that you even said that, Spike Boy." Said their leader, "Even if you know our little 'secret', I doubt that you'll even be leaving this place."
"That goes to say," Said one of the henchmen, "you're not leaving without cuts and broses all over you face!"
"Hmph, you talk big but I doubt that you can fight." Garet commented.
"You'll pay for that one!" Said the second henchmen, drawing out his weapon.
"Now look what you started, oaf!" Amiko exclaimed, sitting down on the floor.
"I didn't start anything!" Garet protested, unsheathing his sword. I held mine firmly in my hand, ready to defend the others when needed.
"They surely don't look very tough." Ivan commented, relieved about one thing.
"Don't worry, Ivan, we can always use our Psynergy to help us if required." I commented, looking ahead at the three thieves.
Their leader striked first, Garet dodging the attack with ease and countered with his own.
"You call that an attack?" He teased as he hit the bandit in the back of the head with the hilt of his sword.
"You'll pay for that one!" The first thief said, charging in on Garet. Ivan though quickly and used his Psynergy to attack.
"Ray!" He called, holding up his staff. The yellow bolt came down and struck all three, weakening them greatly.
"Nice one, Ivan!" I complimented. Ivan blushed a little and returned to helping Garet out. I helped out with the smaller thieves while Garet dealt with their chief.
"And take this!" Garet said as he brought down the hilt of his sword again, knocking the bandit unconscious. The other two fell to the floor soon after.
"For a minute there I thought that we were going to lose, or your other friends would have to jump in," Said the repairmen. He nodded, looking at the trio on the floor. "I'll go on and get the mayor, then."
He left the small room and we heard him go up and then down the ladder.
"Why didn't you two help?" Garet asked, replacing his sword in its scabbard, frowning.
"Why have five people pick on a group of three? It just wouldn't be fair." Amiko commented, getting up.
The repairmen soon came back with the mayor and two other people. The mayor looked at the trio of thieves and nodded his approval.
"It was a nice job in capturing these three so soon. It's best that we tie them up and throw them in the jail." He said, turning back to the five of us.
"Do you really think that putting them in the jail will work? No one's been in there for a very long time, mayor." Said one of the men. The mayor nodded, being reminded of this fact.
"Yes, I know, I know." He looked over at me and asked, "Do you and you friends mind helping us tie these three up?"
I shook me head, "No, we don't mind."
After we tied up the thieves and got them on their feet, the repairmen and one of the two men left with them to take them to their new home.
"Mayor, it seems that we have some unopened boxes here," Said the man. Ivan jerked his head and looked towards the other side of the room.
"That could be your rod, couldn't it, Ivan?" Kanata asked. Ivan nodded and jumped over the crates and towards the box where the man was currently standing. He moved aside to let Ivan in, and helped him push the lid open.
"Here it is..." Ivan got on his tiptoes and reached down, grabbing the rod.
The mayor nodded his approval and slid the lid open to the other crate. Inside were his family's heirloom and the statue that had belonged to the sanctum.
"Those monsters! They stole from our sanctum!" Mayor exclaimed.
"The important part that they will be returned without damage, correct?" I asked, sheathing my sword. Mayor nodded and turned back to me.
"Yes, you're right. And I'm very grateful that you all helped Ivan." Ivan smiled and walked past us.
"Kanata's told me what happened through a link in our minds. I hope that all of you can make it to Mercury Lighthouse safely." Ivan said.
"Hold on, we saw some wagons heading north, and we want to help you save your friend, Ivan." I said, grabbing his attention.
"Yeah, if I remember Kraden's rambling, I think those wagons went somewhere called… Lupin or Lunpa or something like that." Garet said, scratching his head.
"Thank you for your offer, but I would rather deal with this on my own. Besides, finding the other Elemental Stars is more important, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but..." I sighed and smiled slightly. "If you can't get to him you can always come back and we'll all do it together." I offered. I couldn't help it. Ivan was like a best friend already and we barely knew each other. It's only natural to invite someone on a trip.
Ivan nodded, "Thank you, Isaac, I will consider your offer. I do hope to see you soon." With those words said, Ivan left off to go and help Master Hammet.
"Your name was Isaac, was it?" I turned to my name and nodded, "Then before you leave, may I ask you to come by my house?" I nodded again and the mayor and the man left.
"Then what are we waiting for? We should hurry and go and leave." Amiko said.
"We can always wait and see if Ivan will be able to rescue Master Hammet or not, Amiko." Kanata commented.
I nodded in agreement. "That's what I was thinking of doing the next chance we get. Besides, he might have a good guess where we're heading to next."
Garet started for the door and stopped to look back. "I just want to get this over with so anyone who wants to leave before sundown follow me." We all nodded in agreement and followed Garet outside.
Outside the sun was now beginning to turn its favor to the western skies and I'd know that we would have to make camp somewhere out in the woods.
"Let's hurry before we waste anymore time, then." I said. I ran past the houses and up the stairs, with everyone following suit behind me.
Inside the mayor's home, he was waiting for as at the table with a flask of clear liquid sitting beside him.
"Ah, Isaac, I see that you made it." I nodded and walked up to him as he handed me the clear liquid. "This is called 'Water of Life'. I'm sure that you'll need it on your journey. Many monsters have sprouted out, and it can provide very useful."
"Thank you for your kindness. I will make sure and use this only when the time calls for it. I also hope that we're able to come back to Vale when all of this is over." I said, thanking him for the healing material. A simple smile more was all that was needed and we left the home, walked down the stairs outside and left the village.