I purposely left out names in this chapter, you will learn them later, I promise.
Chapter 3 – Kin's Quest
Kin awoke. His memory came back in a rush and he looked around. He was in a cell, with a bed a barred window and a ragged carpet. An old man was sleeping in the cell on his right and Miles was in the cell at his left. A man in a blue suit and greasy hair stood in the narrow hall outside his cell.
"You're awake," he said with a smug look.
"You have some explaining to do!" Kin shouted.
"Hmm, rudeness will get you nowhere," the man said. His eyes narrowed. "I am Mr. Citanaf. I've spent my whole life searching and researching psychics. I have witnessed your awesome powers. And now you will be shown to spectators and they will be in awe at your amazing abilities. You will demonstrate your powers in front of them! After years of being ridiculed, I will prove that psychics exist!"
"Ah! You jerk! I'm not going to be locked up in a cage like a freakin animal and have people looking at me!" Kin yelled. Miles had gained consciousness in the cell next to him.
"Shut up. You are working for the PRR org now. You'll cooperate, or else."
"Where are we anyway?" Kin asked.
The man chuckled. "We're in a trailer a mile or two outside Kalay. And your first show is in half an hour."
"We're not doing any show," Miles said suddenly and firmly. "And we're not psychics, we're Ments."
"Whatever! But in half an hour you go outside and start movin stuff with your mind power."
"And if we refuse?" Kin said in an annoyed voice.
"I thought you'd never ask. Josh!"
"Who's – Oh my!!!"
A huge muscular man lumbered into the trailer. He was so large the trailer slightly tipped a little to one side. He had to bend over to fit through the open trailer door.
"My name is Josh. I like to ponch theengs. I have very, very beeg moscles ," he said in a tough guy voice.
"You see boys, as well as having the strongest minds working for me I also have the strongest muscles as well! You are a member of this group and you know what will happen if you don't obey!"
At this point, I have to step in again to tell you what this story is really about. Kin and Miles are childhood friends who grew up in a small superstitious village called Moontota. Most residents of this forgotten settlement were Ments, psychics who had certain powers depending on which spirit blessed them at birth. Kin was an Mudoment, gifted with earth powers and Miles was a Gustoment with wind powers. Anyway, citizens of Moontota are forbidden to leave, they are protected by a rocky mountain range. They do not want to interfere with the violence and other conflicts of the outside world. They believe they are better left alone. However, one day a mysterious man arrived in the village. He wielded a dazzling golden sword and ordered the village elder to give it to his strongest adepts to carry to the Shrine of Algebra deep in the continent of Nawodnog. The elder refused, but the lone traveler described that if the rising forces of evil possessed this blade then the world would plummet into a dark age that would last a millennium. The elder reluctantly gave in to the man's demands and gave the mission to Kin, Miles, and another girl. The man saw that the trio were fit to bear the burden so agreed to give them the job. He told the trio that they must find the location of the Shrine of Algebra on their own. So they set out into the outside world, stopping atYalak to stock up on supplies. Then their mission went horribly wrong. After being attacked by Ordhy their party had split up and was now caught in a hopeless mess.
Soon after Josh and Mr. Citanaf left, Kin turned to Miles. "We can't take this lying down! I won't be a part of a freak show."
"Yeah, I know but there's not much we can do," Miles said glumly.
"Heh, new arrivals I see, so where are you from?" said a crackled voice from nowhere. Miles and Kin jumped. The old man in the nearby cell had apparently awoken.
"Oh, uh, hi," Kin said.
"We're from the village of Moontota on a very important mission," Miles said.
"Heh, heh, I've been this organization's only attraction for years," the old man said.
"We're not staying here," Kin snapped. "Haven't you ever tried escaping?"
"Oh yes," the man chuckled. "But even my most powerful magic doesn't hurt Citanaf's brother, Josh."
Slowly he lifted his sleeves, revealing horrific scars. Miles and Kin cringed at the ghastly sight.
"I've lost my touch," he sighed.
"Are you a Ment?" Kin asked
"Ment? I've never heard the word in my life."
"You can use your energy to attack can't you?" Miles asked.
"Well, sort of. I'm what you'd call a sage."
"Hm?"
"Well. When I was little my grandfather had trained for a decade to reach an extraordinary level of power. Sort of like enlightenment. You learn how to do attacks requiring enormous mental strength."
"Like?"
"Liftin stuff."
"How do you reach that level?"
"Years of training and meditation."
"Well, um, what's your name?"
"It's Gase."
"Well, um, Gase, our powers are superior to yours."
"How so?"
"Well, in our hometown, there are four different types of Ments, each with its unique abilities."
"I'm a Gustoment, a wind user," Miles said, energetically.
"And I'm a Mudoment, gifted with the power of the Earth," Kin said.
"This is impressive. Never have I heard of such amazing humans. Where were you from? Refresh a dying man's memory..."
"The secluded village of Moontota. Hardly anyone on the outside knows about it. We pretty much keep to ourselves," Kin said.
"I see," Gase said. "Well enough talk, we're on in several minutes. That Josh guy is tough but together we may beat him and escape."
"So how strong is this guy?"
"He's a fricken monster. One punch and yer bleedin like a stuck pig," Gase said.
"Dammit," Kin said. Overall, the two of us are pretty inexperienced in battle. We got beaten up by a single thug back in Yalak."
"Don't worry, I have a plan. When we go out on the stage, I'll use my smoke spell to create a distraction. That's when you two take action and attack," Gase said.
"And that's it?"
"Simple's that," Gase said. "But if this fails we won't be able to stand for days."
---
"And now, our newest attractions, two psychics who can use elemental powers. Please give a warm welcome to Kin and Miles!" Mr. Citanaf shouted.
The psychics looked around at their small audience. Scattered clapping came from the small crowd of skeptical looking people. Surrounding them were thick forests. Across the stage were things the psychics could demonstrate their powers on. A group of vases on a table and a large rock among them.
"All right show them!" Mr. Citanaf said to the three on stage. "Just do your stuff."
Gase took a deep breath and began doing complicated motions with his hands. His eyes were tightly closed and he was mumbling some sort of incantation. The crowd began stirring as Gase's hands began emitting a strange dark energy.
"Smoke Spell!" Gase cried.
At once a wave of smoke blew out of Gase's hands and the entire area was shrouded in it.
"Where'd they go! Dammit! JOSH STOP THEM!" Mr. Citanaf shouted frantically.
But Josh was useless if he couldn't see. Kin and Miles, who had focused on Josh's position before the smoke was release, barreled straight for him. And with a surge of Mental energy rammed right into him and sent him flying into the dense forest.
"Let's go!" Gase whispered sharply.
And with that the three gifted men raced off while Mr. Citanaf cursed loudly and the crowd gasped for air. Once the psychics were far into the forest they stopped to catch their breath. In a few moments Kin and Miles were ready to press onward but Gase was leaned up against a tree, panting loudly and painfully.
"After being locked up for so long I'm not used to physical activity," he managed to say.
"Just how old are you anyway?" Kin asked.
"One hundred and ... twenty nine," he said faintly.
"WHAT!?"
"I'm glad I could help you ... escape," Gase said and with a final shudder he fell limp against the tree.
Kin and Miles just stood there, rigid. Never witnessing death before. Now that he stopped moving the man looked so old. They hadn't realized just how old he was before. Wordlessly, Kin made a hole in the ground with his earth powers and Miles lifted up the man and laid him gently inside. Kin then filled up the hole again while Miles wrote RIP in the soil beside it. They stood up and slowly walked away.
"We hardly even knew him," Miles said half an hour later.
"So normal people can become psychics like us," Kin said.
"I suppose so," Miles replied.
to be continued
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Things will get better later.
Next chapter: Jessi's Story - whatever happened to that girl..?