this'll probably by my last chapter for a while....likely the rest of the
summer....I'll be out of town from July 19th, till August 27th....sorry about
that...
=======A Filler Chapter=======
"Wyverns? Does this mean that those wyverns from back there are involved?" wondered Ivan. He reread the message with concern. Vale apparently hadn't come under too heavy of an attack and hadn't taken too much damage. The note also never mentioned what was stolen or damaged, so the party assumed that it wasn't serious. The fact that Lunpa had taken violent action against three separate towns cast an ugly shadow on the situation.
Garet asked, "Isn't Lunpa that thief town? Didn't we set things right back on our trip around the world?"
"We never visited Lunpa..." said Jenna.
"It was just the four us. We set things straight with the town leaders though. Dodonpa was being an evil leader so we got his dad to put things straight," explained Isaac. "I wonder what the heck is going on now..."
"Regardless, if Vale wants us back there, we should get going. It was our home that was attacked," said Felix.
"The note mentions Imil," said Picard. "We might want to make sure this town will be alright before we leave."
Mia looked up at Picard's comment; "Imil's located pretty deep in the mountains and it's really too cold for any large amount of people to come raiding. Felix is right. We should get moving."
"Wait, we? You're coming with us?" asked Isaac. "Shouldn't you be here with your people in case wyverns or humans, regardless of Imil being isolated, attack? We'll leave Jenna behind with you to give this town a little more defense."
"Hey! I want to see if Vale's alright too! You're most definitely not leaving me behind," replied Jenna.
"We could just leave Jenna behind. Her voice could drive away any enemy any day." Garet got a serious red mark on his face for that. "I was just kidding...ow..."
"We need to act. Whatever course of action we settle on, it should be done quickly. We don't know how much time we have or the extent of damages on Vale, Vault, and Bilibin," said Ivan.
"Splitting up would be a good idea. We can send one faster group ahead and another group could stay behind, warning the people and making sure they're ready in case of any attack. Then the second group could either catch up or the first group can send a bird with a note saying where to meet," suggested Sheba. "This time, I'm not letting any Mauler get a hold of me."
"That's a pretty decent idea, groups? Anyone want to leave first?" asked Isaac, taking command. "Sheba looks like she wants to go ahead, and uh...Picard, you'll probably want to escape that fan club of yours as quickly as possible." He pointed over Picard's shoulder at a pair of giggling girls hiding behind the fountain of the town square.
"Yeah...good idea. I'll go with Sheba," replied a nervous looking Mercury adept.
"Garet go with them too, Felix, they'll need someone trustworthy to lead them through the wilderness. I'll leave that to you," said Isaac. "Ivan, Jenna, and I can stick around for a bit. We'll catch up to you guys later." The four mentioned left, hurrying down the path toward an unknown situation.
Isaac and the others left behind began to go around the city, telling the people of the danger of an attack, from wyverns and/or people. Some gifts were hurriedly made for the party of four by the people of Imil. No one wanted to see the heroes go after all that Mia and Picard had told them. However, seeing that it was inevitable, the people wanted to give them something to remember the town of Imil by. World-famous snow jewelry was given to the girls, tiny sculptures of ice that wouldn't melt in forever cold gems. The guys were content to receive words of encouragement and thanks.
Mia arranged to have Megan and Justin take over all healing duties and become the town's chief Mercury adepts. Ivan made some last minute observations on the lighthouse. Isaac went over procedures with Imil's leaders in case an attack did happen, and the foursome was ready to go a day after the previous four had left.
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"Have you used that staff in battle yet?" asked Jenna of Mia's staff. They were walking together ahead of Isaac and Ivan down the path. Goma Cave had been relatively easy the second time through; Mia's staff had the ability to give off rays of light like a torch, making it much easier to navigate around the still torch less maze. Also fortunately, not too many monsters had shown up in their path. A couple of dirges and goblins, but nothing the two guys couldn't handle by themselves.
"Nope, I don't even have a name for it yet. Besides, it's too beautiful to hit some zombie with," Mia replied, twirling her staff. Conversation quieted as they reached Bilibin after a quick 6 days of travel. The gates to the town were still charred and some buildings showed new wood supports and walls. Most of the people ignored the four newcomers as they were busy with their own work and were still getting over the sudden attack from the week before.
Ivan turned to the rest of the group, "We should get to the mayor's place and see what the heck happened here. We should be able to get some information on the attackers and stuff too." Agreed, Isaac, Ivan, Jenna, and Mia found their way to the mayor's palace which showed scorch marks. Earth and rocks were lying around the building. A few holes were evident in the walls, but soldiers still guarded the doors and the mayor and family were still around and unharmed.
"What's with the scorch marks? Was there a Mars adept here?" Jenna whispered Isaac. The group leader and Ivan entered the mayor's room with Isaac wondering the same thing. The mayor told them that the thieves had attacked at dawn as the sleepy night shift of guards changed with the still waking up day shift. Most of the town was still asleep and were caught by surprise.
"Damn those bastards. They tore down the weapon and armor shops, taking almost everything we had in those buildings. Thankfully, they didn't kill any civilians; just some concussions were handed out to those who tried opposing them. They came too fast and too strong," said the mayor of Bilibin. He looked weary, thinner than what Ivan remembered.
Ivan asked, "How many attackers were there?"
"No idea. Upwards of 300, heavily armed with lances, swords, and bows. All were apparently well trained. They attacked in three waves, in patterns, and they used cover well. Some of them waved their arms around and fire and rocks came out. No idea what that was, sorcery, black magic. They're devils, attacking a peaceful village with only a small garrison as a defense," was the reply.
"Well organized....hmm... Isaac, what do you think?" Ivan looked at his blonde friend.
"New Vale is bigger than Bilibin. I wonder how many soldiers were sent there... No doubt these were trained soldiers. Mayor, any idea who's these men were fighting for?" questioned Isaac.
"Hell, they were all cloaked and masked, no idea. Vault and Vale have voiced their opinion that Lunpa is behind this. True, they have been quiet for a while since Donpa retook power from his son, but Donpa has no reason to attack three villages. Methinks that something happened and Dodonpa is back or it's just some new group that's intent on stirring up trouble. What troubles me the most is the beasts that they had."
"Beasts?" asked Isaac.
"Yeah beasts. Scary things they were. Big wolves and small blue and red dragons. Those flying lizards breathed ice and fire. We might have held out from our walls had it not been for those wolf riders and the dragons. Damn them! To hell with them! Those monsters killed all my best men and over 50 of the garrison." The mayor pounded his fist on the desk, shaking with anger.
"Ice wyverns and probably fire ones too. Wolf riders though, that's new," commented Ivan. "Casualties? Sorry for touching on a sensitive topic, but we need to know if we're going to help and we need all the information we can get."
"Out of my 80 man garrison, only 11 remain. Civilian casualties were low, only 14, but that's 14 more lives that I failed to protect!" He pounded his hands on his desk again, face contorted with anger and shame.
"It's not your fault mayor, these were well trained fighters you were up against. By the way, have you seen another party of four led by a tall brown haired man and a girl about my age?" asked Ivan.
"No, I haven't. You guys had best be on your way, my representatives are already at Vale. Young men and women like you are going to be needed with your bright minds to figure out what happened and deal retribution to those who deserve it." Taking that as a polite dismissal, Isaac and Ivan left the room and joined Jenna and Mia outside. Repeating what the mayor had told them, Ivan told the girls what they learned while Isaac brooded about what to do next.
The troop gathered together some supplies and headed out a mere 3 hours after reaching Bilibin. Several days later, a raven found them after they exited Bilibin cave with a letter attached to its leg.
"Vale is doing fine, nobody seriously hurt. No serious damage either. Get here as fast as you can have some urgent information that can't be risked in a bird message." –Felix
Traveling even faster than they were before, Isaac, Ivan, Jenna, and Mia reached Vale in a record one day after leaving Bilibin cave. Ivan sensed something was not right.
=============================
A/N: bad and short chapter, only half the length of my other chaps...but I'm short on time and stuff so I'd thought I'd just get out something before I go out of town...flame me for leaving town if you really don't like me not writing :P
=======A Filler Chapter=======
"Wyverns? Does this mean that those wyverns from back there are involved?" wondered Ivan. He reread the message with concern. Vale apparently hadn't come under too heavy of an attack and hadn't taken too much damage. The note also never mentioned what was stolen or damaged, so the party assumed that it wasn't serious. The fact that Lunpa had taken violent action against three separate towns cast an ugly shadow on the situation.
Garet asked, "Isn't Lunpa that thief town? Didn't we set things right back on our trip around the world?"
"We never visited Lunpa..." said Jenna.
"It was just the four us. We set things straight with the town leaders though. Dodonpa was being an evil leader so we got his dad to put things straight," explained Isaac. "I wonder what the heck is going on now..."
"Regardless, if Vale wants us back there, we should get going. It was our home that was attacked," said Felix.
"The note mentions Imil," said Picard. "We might want to make sure this town will be alright before we leave."
Mia looked up at Picard's comment; "Imil's located pretty deep in the mountains and it's really too cold for any large amount of people to come raiding. Felix is right. We should get moving."
"Wait, we? You're coming with us?" asked Isaac. "Shouldn't you be here with your people in case wyverns or humans, regardless of Imil being isolated, attack? We'll leave Jenna behind with you to give this town a little more defense."
"Hey! I want to see if Vale's alright too! You're most definitely not leaving me behind," replied Jenna.
"We could just leave Jenna behind. Her voice could drive away any enemy any day." Garet got a serious red mark on his face for that. "I was just kidding...ow..."
"We need to act. Whatever course of action we settle on, it should be done quickly. We don't know how much time we have or the extent of damages on Vale, Vault, and Bilibin," said Ivan.
"Splitting up would be a good idea. We can send one faster group ahead and another group could stay behind, warning the people and making sure they're ready in case of any attack. Then the second group could either catch up or the first group can send a bird with a note saying where to meet," suggested Sheba. "This time, I'm not letting any Mauler get a hold of me."
"That's a pretty decent idea, groups? Anyone want to leave first?" asked Isaac, taking command. "Sheba looks like she wants to go ahead, and uh...Picard, you'll probably want to escape that fan club of yours as quickly as possible." He pointed over Picard's shoulder at a pair of giggling girls hiding behind the fountain of the town square.
"Yeah...good idea. I'll go with Sheba," replied a nervous looking Mercury adept.
"Garet go with them too, Felix, they'll need someone trustworthy to lead them through the wilderness. I'll leave that to you," said Isaac. "Ivan, Jenna, and I can stick around for a bit. We'll catch up to you guys later." The four mentioned left, hurrying down the path toward an unknown situation.
Isaac and the others left behind began to go around the city, telling the people of the danger of an attack, from wyverns and/or people. Some gifts were hurriedly made for the party of four by the people of Imil. No one wanted to see the heroes go after all that Mia and Picard had told them. However, seeing that it was inevitable, the people wanted to give them something to remember the town of Imil by. World-famous snow jewelry was given to the girls, tiny sculptures of ice that wouldn't melt in forever cold gems. The guys were content to receive words of encouragement and thanks.
Mia arranged to have Megan and Justin take over all healing duties and become the town's chief Mercury adepts. Ivan made some last minute observations on the lighthouse. Isaac went over procedures with Imil's leaders in case an attack did happen, and the foursome was ready to go a day after the previous four had left.
------------------------------
"Have you used that staff in battle yet?" asked Jenna of Mia's staff. They were walking together ahead of Isaac and Ivan down the path. Goma Cave had been relatively easy the second time through; Mia's staff had the ability to give off rays of light like a torch, making it much easier to navigate around the still torch less maze. Also fortunately, not too many monsters had shown up in their path. A couple of dirges and goblins, but nothing the two guys couldn't handle by themselves.
"Nope, I don't even have a name for it yet. Besides, it's too beautiful to hit some zombie with," Mia replied, twirling her staff. Conversation quieted as they reached Bilibin after a quick 6 days of travel. The gates to the town were still charred and some buildings showed new wood supports and walls. Most of the people ignored the four newcomers as they were busy with their own work and were still getting over the sudden attack from the week before.
Ivan turned to the rest of the group, "We should get to the mayor's place and see what the heck happened here. We should be able to get some information on the attackers and stuff too." Agreed, Isaac, Ivan, Jenna, and Mia found their way to the mayor's palace which showed scorch marks. Earth and rocks were lying around the building. A few holes were evident in the walls, but soldiers still guarded the doors and the mayor and family were still around and unharmed.
"What's with the scorch marks? Was there a Mars adept here?" Jenna whispered Isaac. The group leader and Ivan entered the mayor's room with Isaac wondering the same thing. The mayor told them that the thieves had attacked at dawn as the sleepy night shift of guards changed with the still waking up day shift. Most of the town was still asleep and were caught by surprise.
"Damn those bastards. They tore down the weapon and armor shops, taking almost everything we had in those buildings. Thankfully, they didn't kill any civilians; just some concussions were handed out to those who tried opposing them. They came too fast and too strong," said the mayor of Bilibin. He looked weary, thinner than what Ivan remembered.
Ivan asked, "How many attackers were there?"
"No idea. Upwards of 300, heavily armed with lances, swords, and bows. All were apparently well trained. They attacked in three waves, in patterns, and they used cover well. Some of them waved their arms around and fire and rocks came out. No idea what that was, sorcery, black magic. They're devils, attacking a peaceful village with only a small garrison as a defense," was the reply.
"Well organized....hmm... Isaac, what do you think?" Ivan looked at his blonde friend.
"New Vale is bigger than Bilibin. I wonder how many soldiers were sent there... No doubt these were trained soldiers. Mayor, any idea who's these men were fighting for?" questioned Isaac.
"Hell, they were all cloaked and masked, no idea. Vault and Vale have voiced their opinion that Lunpa is behind this. True, they have been quiet for a while since Donpa retook power from his son, but Donpa has no reason to attack three villages. Methinks that something happened and Dodonpa is back or it's just some new group that's intent on stirring up trouble. What troubles me the most is the beasts that they had."
"Beasts?" asked Isaac.
"Yeah beasts. Scary things they were. Big wolves and small blue and red dragons. Those flying lizards breathed ice and fire. We might have held out from our walls had it not been for those wolf riders and the dragons. Damn them! To hell with them! Those monsters killed all my best men and over 50 of the garrison." The mayor pounded his fist on the desk, shaking with anger.
"Ice wyverns and probably fire ones too. Wolf riders though, that's new," commented Ivan. "Casualties? Sorry for touching on a sensitive topic, but we need to know if we're going to help and we need all the information we can get."
"Out of my 80 man garrison, only 11 remain. Civilian casualties were low, only 14, but that's 14 more lives that I failed to protect!" He pounded his hands on his desk again, face contorted with anger and shame.
"It's not your fault mayor, these were well trained fighters you were up against. By the way, have you seen another party of four led by a tall brown haired man and a girl about my age?" asked Ivan.
"No, I haven't. You guys had best be on your way, my representatives are already at Vale. Young men and women like you are going to be needed with your bright minds to figure out what happened and deal retribution to those who deserve it." Taking that as a polite dismissal, Isaac and Ivan left the room and joined Jenna and Mia outside. Repeating what the mayor had told them, Ivan told the girls what they learned while Isaac brooded about what to do next.
The troop gathered together some supplies and headed out a mere 3 hours after reaching Bilibin. Several days later, a raven found them after they exited Bilibin cave with a letter attached to its leg.
"Vale is doing fine, nobody seriously hurt. No serious damage either. Get here as fast as you can have some urgent information that can't be risked in a bird message." –Felix
Traveling even faster than they were before, Isaac, Ivan, Jenna, and Mia reached Vale in a record one day after leaving Bilibin cave. Ivan sensed something was not right.
=============================
A/N: bad and short chapter, only half the length of my other chaps...but I'm short on time and stuff so I'd thought I'd just get out something before I go out of town...flame me for leaving town if you really don't like me not writing :P