b Chapter 2: Vault /b
Ivan was the best playmate me and my sister ever had. Ever. He was fun to play with, real fun to play with. My friends wanted to play with Ivan too- he was really nice. He played ball with me and my friends, but my sister wanted him to play with her dolls. Dolls are so girly. I'm glad I'm not a girl.
Ivan was sad, too, when he stayed with us. Me and my sister didn't know why he was sad, but we wanted to know. We even asked Papa. He's the mayor of Vault. (A mayor is a very important person, making Papa very important.) Papa said that it's Ivan's business, and we're "too young to know or understand." Maybe it's because Ivan lost something. Sis always cries too much when she loses her dolls.
The thing Ivan lost was this really big stick—what's it called again, Sis? Oh, the Shaman's Rod. You don't know what a. . .shaman. . .is, Sis, do you? I thought not. It sound cool, though.
Ivan came to our village around week ago with a bunch of people. The only other name I can remember is someone called Master. . .Hammie, I think. Sis! What was that guy's name? Okay, okay, you can stop yelling at me now! Master i Hammet /i was the older guy's name. He looked very important, like Papa. Except he looked more important.
People say Ivan is freaky and has freaky powers. I don't get why they say such mean things about Ivan because he's so nice. His eyes are a little scary because they're purple, but purple's a cool color. (It's my favorite color. Sis likes pink, but pink's such an ugly color!) Ivan is also very quiet, unlike other people, but being quiet doesn't make him freaky! People who talk too much are freaky. And besides, I never ever saw Ivan's powers. My sis never lies (Mama says she's a little angel), and she never saw them either. Even if he did have magical powers, they'd be cool. Magic isn't freaky. I wish I could do magic.
Ivan's from a big city called Kalay. I asked him how big Kalay was, and he said it was bigger than Vault, with lots more people. I was amazed. Vault is so big! How can something be bigger? Ivan also said he lived in Kalay with Master Hammet and Master Hammet's wife, Lady Layana. (Layana. That's a pretty name. When I grow up, I'm going to call my girl Layana.) Ivan said that life in Kalay was nice. He lived in a mansion—a very big house. It was more exciting than life here, anyways. I want to go to Kalay now, but Papa won't take me or Sis. "Next year," he says. He i always /i says that. Last year he said "Next year," but he never took us there.
Ivan lost his rod when there was the eruptionhappened, Mama says. The eruption was like a storm, but much scarier. See, we were at Auntie's house. Stuff was falling from the sky and the ground was shaking. Sis was hiding, but I wasn't. I was being brave and not hiding. When the eruption stopped, my sister came out. She said that I was shaking and would have run screaming if I wasn't stuck in the chairs. That's not true. I was brave, and that's that.
After Ivan lost his Shaman's Rod, he stayed with us because Master Hammet and everyone else left. My sister and I both liked it when Ivan stayed with us. He played with us more.
Two days ago, two big boys helped Ivan find the Shaman's Rod. One of them was called Isaac. He was really nice like Ivan, and his hair was yellow and spiky. The other boy was called Garet. He was nice, too. His hair was funny-looking. It was red, spiki i er /i than Isaac's, and really big. Garet's my new hero. (My old hero was a man—I think he called himself a. . .a . . .a mer. . .cen. . .ary. Yeah, that's it, a mercenary. He fought monsters. Garet fights monsters too.) I tried getting my hair to stick up like Garet's, but it wouldn't stay up. My sister thought I was being stupid.
What? Sis! I am not stupid! You're never an angel when we're alone!
Isaac and Garet stayed for supper that night because they helped Ivan and they found other treasures. They found Papa's urn, whatever that is. I think it looks like a jug. Sis agrees, but Papa said it was an urn. What's so special about urns?
Supper was so good that night. Mama made fish, which we almost never have. She also made really good dessert. She usually doesn't make that many cookies for dessert. Sis and I were allowed five each, but I took three more when Mama wasn't looking.
After supper, the boys told us stories. Sis and me wanted to hear of how they found the treasures. Ivan told the story. He's a really good storyteller. Besdies, after finding the Shaman's Rod, he was happier.
"So, you want to hear of how we caught the thieves?" Garet asked.
"Yes!" me and Sis both yelled. Mama then told us to use our best manners and not be too loud.
"On the day of the eruption," Ivan started, "the bandits—that's another word for thieves, you two—decided they would steal personal belongings because everybody was hiding. They stole my Shaman's Rod, your father's urn, and much more, even daring to steal a statue from the sanctum. They hid the stolen goods in a well-concealed—"
"What's concealed mean?" I asked.
"Shh," Mama shushed, "don't interrupt. It's rude."
"Sorry," I apologized. "But what's concealed?"
"It's okay," Ivan continued. "I should use words that you know. Concealed means hidden. The thieves hid the stolen goods into a hidden area—"
"Hmph," Garet muttered to Isaac. "Kind of obvious, don't you think?"
"Shh!" Sis scolded. "Ivan's telling a story!"
"Sorry, sorry," Garet said. Isaac rolled his eyes.
Ivan coughed. "Anyways," he said, glaring at Garet and Isaac, "the bandits hid their loot—their stolen goods—in the inn's attic. It's not a public area, so when the inn was searched for the stolen stuff, no one found it. Isaac, Garet, and I knew the stolen stuff was in the inn—don't ask how—so we searched the inn thoroughly—that means completely," he added, seeing me open my mouth. "However, we couldn't find anything. Furthermore, the innkeeper and his wife wouldn't help us. The thieves were paying them money, and helping us would make the innkeeper and his wife lose their main source of income. We—"
"What's income?" I blurted, before Mama could stop me.
"It's money you get from a job," Ivan explained. "So, we checked the area outside the inn. We saw a ladder leading into the attic of the inn. We decided to look into it—"
"More like you decided to look into it," Garet muttered again.
"Well, we found the stuff," Ivan pointed out. "And don't interrupt, Garet. It's becoming rather annoying. Anyhow, we found the treasure inside the attic. We also find a tied-up man. We freed him, and he subsequently—" (I didn't bother to ask what that meant) "—told us that the thieves tied him up there. Then, the thieves arrived.
"They started with the tough talk that all thieves say. Then we fought. It was a hard battle, but we won. Isaac and Garet here are good fighters."
"Hey," Isaac, who had barely spoken, stated, "Ivan's a good one too."
"Um, yeah," Ivan said. "After we beat the bandits, your papa came in and sent the police to jail."
I could hear my sister musing next to me. "So that's who the men near the jail were. They were so rude," she whispered quietly.
"And that's the end of our story," Garet finished. Me and Sis both wanted to hear more stories, but Mama made us go to bed."
That night was fun. Too bad all three boys had to leave the day after. Ivan had to go back to Kalay because his Master Hammet and his wife would miss him. Isaac and Garet had to go on a quest. All of them promised to visit later. Sis and I both'll look forward to it. Besides, Mama makes good food when guests come. We never get that many cookies unless visitors stay for supper.
I miss Ivan already. I'll think about quests. They sound exciting. When I grow up, i I /i want to go on a quest—only if someone really strong and Mama were going too.
Whatever. That will have to wait until I grow up. Now, Mama's calling me and Sis to go down for dinner. Mama's making something special tonight. Sis says she knows, but I'll prove her wrong. She can't know because I know. Mama told me herself. Besides, boys know more than girls do. That's a fact.
Mama's calling me again. I'd better go. Sis already went. Girls are always like that.