Chapter One: Rough Beginnings
Garet's fingers clasped the axe in a tightened vice grip as the head of the weapon whizzed through the dry air. A sword caught the axe's path, but to no avail. The axe finished it's path down, crushing itself into the ground. Garet backed away from the axe - if he tried to get it out of the ground, he was a dead man. His opponent had side-stepped, but Garet rested out of his enemy's range, and had enough time to draw the Claymore from his back.
The figure opposite Garet stepped too close. Had misjudged the fighting ability of the redhead. Garet pulled the sword's hilt back to his waist, and lunged at the man, stabbing the sword through his heart. The figure gasped, and then died.
He should have known better, Garet thought.
He was back on his way from Imil when the bandit had attacked him. Fool, to think killing him was a one-man job. There needed to be at least ten, Garet sleeping, and with inside help. He had always boasted about it to his friends - Isaac, Ivan, Piers, and Jenna - and they had all agreed. Garet was virtually invincible. With Mars Lighthouse rejuvenated, the power of fire came into his spirit and muscles, enabling him to be stronger than ever. He had trained for the three years since his journey, and his chest bulged underneath his shirts. He didn't even need to rely on Psynergy anymore - he could break a man's back with his fist.
He checked the corpse for something, and all he found was some useless red potions. Well, nothing he had ever seen before. And he wasn't going to try out what they did now. Well, then again, he just might. He went to the back of his wagon, and to the far reaches of the contaminants. Vials...Normal Mercury Water, ah! Garet grabbed the gold stuff off the counter and walked back to the dead man's body. He opened the stopper, and poured the gold water onto the body.
Nothing happened for a bit, until the water started to cackle and fizz. The signs of life returned to the thief, and Garet readied his sword for battle.
The bandit's eyes burst open, and Garet spat out a question at the obviously dazed thief.
"I want answers, thief. Why were you trying to kill me?"
The figure smiled back at him, replying,
"So, you've got Revival potions. So nice of you. All in vain."
The thief grabbed a vial from his garments, popped open the stopper, and drank it empty. Garet stared as the body's skin started to peel away, and the hair atop the head fell to the ground. Already gray. The body twitched, and then fell backwards, bringing it out of the thief's sitting position. When it hit ground, it was already a decomposed skeleton. The bones burst, and all that was left was dust.
So, he was not meant to talk.
Garet got back onto the wagon, and started up the pace to Vale once more, pondering the presence of the assassin.
---
The same had happened to Isaac, too. He had been able to fend the woman off, but before she died, she cried out in pain,
"Remember the Fallen!"
Isaac wondered what this could mean - on his journey throughout the world, he had never heard of any of the Fallen. Maybe he had killed one of them, and now they wanted payment or something odd. Cults were like that, sometimes.
So Laurel said when he asked him. Isaac had been on his way to Kolima Forest when the ninja had attacked him, and he made the most of his journey by speaking to both elder trees. With the lighthouses lit, Tret's Mars power had grown, and the Jupiter heart Laurel carried had risen in strength.
Both elder trees suggested he head for New Vale right away - Laurel mentioned the same attack had apparently happened to Garet, and he was headed for New Vale. Tret boomed that he could beat Garet home - if he trusted the new psynergy transport Tret was working on. Isaac agreed, and soon was standing on one of Tret's fallen leaves. The leaf was almost unrecognizable, as it was crisp with burning along the edges. Isaac wondered if he had made the right choice when he heard Tret booming behind him,
"This might hurt a little. HROOM!"
That was an understatement.
Garet's fingers clasped the axe in a tightened vice grip as the head of the weapon whizzed through the dry air. A sword caught the axe's path, but to no avail. The axe finished it's path down, crushing itself into the ground. Garet backed away from the axe - if he tried to get it out of the ground, he was a dead man. His opponent had side-stepped, but Garet rested out of his enemy's range, and had enough time to draw the Claymore from his back.
The figure opposite Garet stepped too close. Had misjudged the fighting ability of the redhead. Garet pulled the sword's hilt back to his waist, and lunged at the man, stabbing the sword through his heart. The figure gasped, and then died.
He should have known better, Garet thought.
He was back on his way from Imil when the bandit had attacked him. Fool, to think killing him was a one-man job. There needed to be at least ten, Garet sleeping, and with inside help. He had always boasted about it to his friends - Isaac, Ivan, Piers, and Jenna - and they had all agreed. Garet was virtually invincible. With Mars Lighthouse rejuvenated, the power of fire came into his spirit and muscles, enabling him to be stronger than ever. He had trained for the three years since his journey, and his chest bulged underneath his shirts. He didn't even need to rely on Psynergy anymore - he could break a man's back with his fist.
He checked the corpse for something, and all he found was some useless red potions. Well, nothing he had ever seen before. And he wasn't going to try out what they did now. Well, then again, he just might. He went to the back of his wagon, and to the far reaches of the contaminants. Vials...Normal Mercury Water, ah! Garet grabbed the gold stuff off the counter and walked back to the dead man's body. He opened the stopper, and poured the gold water onto the body.
Nothing happened for a bit, until the water started to cackle and fizz. The signs of life returned to the thief, and Garet readied his sword for battle.
The bandit's eyes burst open, and Garet spat out a question at the obviously dazed thief.
"I want answers, thief. Why were you trying to kill me?"
The figure smiled back at him, replying,
"So, you've got Revival potions. So nice of you. All in vain."
The thief grabbed a vial from his garments, popped open the stopper, and drank it empty. Garet stared as the body's skin started to peel away, and the hair atop the head fell to the ground. Already gray. The body twitched, and then fell backwards, bringing it out of the thief's sitting position. When it hit ground, it was already a decomposed skeleton. The bones burst, and all that was left was dust.
So, he was not meant to talk.
Garet got back onto the wagon, and started up the pace to Vale once more, pondering the presence of the assassin.
---
The same had happened to Isaac, too. He had been able to fend the woman off, but before she died, she cried out in pain,
"Remember the Fallen!"
Isaac wondered what this could mean - on his journey throughout the world, he had never heard of any of the Fallen. Maybe he had killed one of them, and now they wanted payment or something odd. Cults were like that, sometimes.
So Laurel said when he asked him. Isaac had been on his way to Kolima Forest when the ninja had attacked him, and he made the most of his journey by speaking to both elder trees. With the lighthouses lit, Tret's Mars power had grown, and the Jupiter heart Laurel carried had risen in strength.
Both elder trees suggested he head for New Vale right away - Laurel mentioned the same attack had apparently happened to Garet, and he was headed for New Vale. Tret boomed that he could beat Garet home - if he trusted the new psynergy transport Tret was working on. Isaac agreed, and soon was standing on one of Tret's fallen leaves. The leaf was almost unrecognizable, as it was crisp with burning along the edges. Isaac wondered if he had made the right choice when he heard Tret booming behind him,
"This might hurt a little. HROOM!"
That was an understatement.