Disclaimer: I only own Verona, the thieves, and the townspeople. Elizabeth belongs to one of my friends. Otherwise, I don't own anything.

Author's note: -hums "On the Road Again", then stops when she notices everyone staring at her- What?

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They traveled through the thick forest like area of Serdia for a few hours, the seven original Dragoons conversing about the memories of their past journey. Elizabeth and Verona learned a lot about each individual Dragoon by just listening. However, they had just gotten to the part where they had rescued Emille before Kongol abruptly stopped, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Everyone else stopped, the expressions on their faces of curiosity and concern.

"What is it?" asked Dart as he took a step towards his large friend.

"Kongol smell… something." He turned and pointed to a large mass of branches and leaves that blocked their view of what was behind it. "It coming from there."

The Dragoons approached the mass of leaves and Dart pushed the branches apart; exposing what was behind it.

"Look! A trail!" exclaimed Meru as she pointed.

Indeed it was a trail, for much of the leaves and branches had been cut away to form a path straight through the forest. The plants and grass underfoot had been trampled down and what seemed to be footprints of multiple people had imprinted in the resulting mass.

"Footprints and everything." Hashel turned to Kongol, this regular smile in place. "Good work Kongol! I don't think we would've caught it without you."

The earlier small smile reappeared on Kongol's face.

Verona stepped carefully into the trail, crouching slightly as she held up a leaf to inspect it closely. She saw it was cut clean in half, and what appeared to be a streak of blood above the cut. She gently touched the red spot with her forefinger and looked at it. It was still wet, so it must have been left there recently. She gently rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. Definitely blood.

She stood up and approached Dart. "Look what I found."

Dart looked and his brow furrowed slightly. "Where did you find it?"

"On a leaf over there," she said as she pointed towards the leaf.

The other Dragoons entered the trail, filing in one at a time, since that was all there was room for.

"It's about the right height for a human hand," she said, holding up the leaf.

Albert followed the footprints that led deeper into the forest with his eyes. His Warrior's Sense was urging him forward; it was telling him to follow the trail. He followed the trail for a few paces, squeezing himself between the foliage and his fellow Dragoons. He let his eyes linger where the trail disappeared around a curve. "Something tells me…" He turned back to his friends. "… That we should follow this trail."

"I know what you mean," said Meru, studying the footprints underneath. "Something's making me want to go that way too."

"It's the only thing we really have to go by," agreed Elizabeth, looking at Dart.

He nodded. "Right. We'll follow. The blood's still wet, so whoever it was couldn't have gone far."

Blood was found on leaves further down the trail, but gradually disappeared the further they walked. The group of warriors continued on, following the footprints pressed into the trampled foliage. About five minutes had passed before they heard the sounds of a village in peril.

"Hey! Give that back! It used to be my father's!"

"Leave us alone!"

"How dare you come to us bearing weapons! What did we ever do to you?!"

"My baby! Don't hurt my baby!"

The nine travelling warriors took off running down the trail, taking out their weapons as they charged forward. Leaves whipped at their arms as they rushed by, but they paid them no mind. The sounds of the village became louder, now accented by the ringing of swords. They ran faster until the village came into view.

It was fairly small; there could only have been ten buildings at the most. There was a large empty area in the middle- like a town square of sorts- that served as an entrance to the small town. Five people stood in the middle of the empty area, two carry torches. They were all armed with short swords, sand-yellow clothes, and crude-looking breastplates being the extent of their armor. The townspeople were scattered in front of them, including a woman on the ground who protectively clutched a wailing infant to her chest. A short sword hovered just inches away from her face. Many of the villagers looked terrified, as they weren't used to being faced with such hostility.

Dart was the first to step out from the cover of the forest, his sword held at ready.

The five thieves turned to see the supposed lone man brandishing his sword, and laughed. One of the thieves, who was obviously the leader, as he wore more armor than the rest, spoke.

"Lookie here; a meddler. What can you do when there's only one of you and five of us?"

A female voice emerged from the forest behind the blonde swordsman, startling the villagers and the thieves.

"He's not alone."

The other eight warriors emerged, wielding their weapons. Elizabeth, the one who had spoken, stood towards the front.

The eyes of the five thieves visibly bugged. With the tide now turned, they were sorely outnumbered: five short swords against two swords, two bows and arrows, one huge battle axe, one javelin, one double-headed spear, a large mallet, and one pair of fists. Thinking quickly, the leader quickly reached out and took hold of a nearby child by the back of her neck, pulling her away from the man she had been clinging to. The short sword was instantly at her neck. The child; who had medium length red hair and green eyes, squirmed at first, then became very still when she realized her life was threatened.

"Shayla!" The man, obviously the father of the child, tried to run to the girl, but was quickly halted as a short sword of another thief blocked his path, hovering at chest level.

A well-aimed arrow on Shana's behalf quickly ended the hostage situation. With a yell, the leader of the thieves dropped his sword, his arm wounded at the shoulder. The girl, now free, shoved him away from her, making him fall over backwards. Separated from her father and the rest of the villagers by thieves, she ran towards the woman that had freed her.

The leader of the thieves quickly sat up. "Get her!"

Two of the thieves tried to catch her, but she was already out of their reach. Shana got down on one knee and took the girl by both shoulders.

"Are you alright?"

The girl nodded, her green eyes wide and frightened.

"Stay behind me; we won't hurt you." With that, the previous Dragoon of Light gently positioned the girl behind her and stood up, loading another arrow into her bow and pulling the string taught as she aimed it at the thieves.

Holding his bleeding shoulder around the protruding arrow, the leading of the thieves got to his feet. Bending his wounded arm at the elbow, he pointed his sword at the heroes. "You may have won this fight, but you haven't seen the last of us!"

The nine Dragoons let the thieves retreat past them into the forest, watching them intently as they ran by. After they thieves had disappeared, the weapons were put away. The little girl, Shayla, burst out from the group and sprinted to her father, who collected his daughter into his arms and held her tightly.

An older and more distinguished looking man stepped forward. He wore plain brown clothes. His eyes were of a brown color, and his hair was mostly gray except for a few brown strands. "I am Mir, the Mayor of Gez. On behalf of myself and the entire village, I thank you."

"Glad we could help," said Dart, nodding once.

"Please join us tonight! We will be celebrating the second anniversary of this village's founding; and I would like to proclaim you nine heroes as the guests of honor!"

A cheer erupted from the crowd of villagers, the several children present, Shayla included, jumping up and down in excitement. Not one person objected to Mir's announcement; the nine heroes had very well saved all of their lives.

The Dragoons looked at each other, each nodding in agreement to Dart. He turned to the mayor. "We'll be there."

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While the other Dragoons were being given a tour of Gez by Mir, Dart and Shana were invited by Shayla to come to her home.

It was fairly small, yet cozy. The floor, walls, and ceiling were plain wood; there was a small cooking stove in one corner, a bed against the opposite wall, and a smaller bed nearby. A small table and several chairs were in the middle of the room. Shayla, her father, Dart, and Shana all sat down

Danis, Shayla's father, was in his late twenties. He had short dark hair that partially hung in his blue eyes. He wore a rather plain faded green outfit. He sat with his forearms resting on the table, a cup in his right hand. Shayla sat next to him, wearing a plain green dress, sipping from her cup with both hands. Dart and Shana sat across from them, both with a cup in their hands.

"So," said Dart, looking at the man sitting across from him. "How was Gez founded?"

"Well," he said, looking up from his cup. "Everyone in this village used to live in Kazas. I myself was a weapons dealer back then. It was just Shayla and myself; it was hard, but I managed to make enough to feed both of us. Many of the townspeople weren't happy, but they were all afraid to do anything because of the soldiers that walked the streets. Well, at least until Mir stepped up. He used to be the doctor of Kazas, and one of the best; he helped my wife give birth to Shayla, Soa rest her soul. Anyway, Mir was the only one brave enough to organize some of the more daring civilians to make an escape. It took some time, but we all made it out of Kazas, and eventually Sandora itself. We were all afraid to show our faces in a Serdian city, so we traveled on until we reached here, where we put up homes. It's been almost two years since then, and the whole village is going to have a huge party in the Town Square. Everybody's been looking forward to it for a while now."

Shayla quickly put her cup down on the table, looking up at her father. "Papa, can I show them my dress?"

Danis looked at his daughter and smiled. "Of course you can. But be careful not to get it dirty, okay?"

She beamed. "Okay!" Hopping down from her chair, she ran over to the smaller bed and opened a chest near it. Danis watched her with a fond smile. "Just like her mother…"

Shana put down her cup from taking a sip. "What happened to her mother, if you don't mind my asking?"

The fond smile disappeared and Danis turned back to the couple. He let out a small sigh. His voice was quieter, almost as if he didn't want his daughter to hear. "She died eight years ago, shortly after Shayla was born. Mir tried to help her, but her body just couldn't handle the stress."

"Oh," said Shana quietly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"I found it!" Shayla ran up to them, holding up a simple but pretty purple dress. She beamed excitedly; unaware of the small conversation that had taken place between the adults. The adults all smiled at her youthful enthusiasm.

"That's a very pretty dress, Shayla," said Shana, observing the dress. "Is that the dress you're going to wear to the party tonight?"

Still beaming, the young girl nodded furiously. "Uh huh!"

Danis ruffled his daughter's hair fondly. "She's been looking forward to it all year. She's had the dress for months now, but she refuses to put it on until tonight." He looked back at Dart and Shana. "So, what about you two? You came here with a lot of friends."

Dart shrugged. "Well, Shana and I have been married for almost a year now. We've known each other since I was about seven and grew up together. We're on an adventure with our friends. We were walking by when we heard the villagers shouting."

The dark haired man watched his daughter go put her dress away. "If it wasn't for you people, the entire village could've been dead by now. We're all lucky you were passing by."

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The Town Square became the center of activity during the party. There was a large fire in the middle of it all that seemed to reach up to the sky in a blazing inferno. A live band of fiddles, spoons, drums, a bagpipe looking instrument, and several woodwinds set up near the entrance of the village. The night opened with Mir making a short speech about how the town was founded and of the nine heroes in attendance that night. A feast of home-baked goods followed shortly afterwards, with foods including, but not limited to, an assortment of pies, cakes, roasted meats, and other meals that came in so much one person just couldn't eat one of everything. That, however, only took up a fraction of the night; the music dominated the party as the food tables were moved aside and the large area around the fire was tuned into the dance floor. The music was by no means elegant, but it had a catchy tune, and the fast beat made everyone want to get up and dance.

The Dragoons sat in chairs edging the dance floor. Dart and Shana sat next to each other, the other Dragoons to their left or right.

"I remember when they used to have parties like this is Seles," commented Dart. "Do you remember Shana?"

"A little. I usually didn't get to dance because I was so young." She was watching the dancers surrounding the fire; they looked like they were having fun; every one of them was laughing.

The song ended and a faster one started right afterwards. Dart's eyes lit up and his smile grew. "Hey! I know this one!" He quickly got up and faced his wife, taking her hands and pulling her up to her feet. "Come on!"

"Dart!" she exclaimed, surprised when he pulled her out in front of the fire. "I don't know this…"

His left hand took her right and her left rested on his right shoulder. "Don't worry, it's easy," he said as he put his right hand on her back, pulling her closer to him. "Just move; don't think!"

They began to move together to the beat of the music, joining the flow of people circling the fire at a fast rate. Shana shut her eyes tightly and squealed with the thrill of the speed of the unfamiliar dance. Dart laughed; he was genuinely having fun. It wasn't often he and Shana were able to do these kinds of things.

The other Dragoons smiled and laughed. Meru clapped her hands with the beat and grinned. This was her kind of party.

Both Hashel and Kongol didn't dare get up; they had eaten a little too much, and felt that they couldn't eat another bite. Hashel smiled, happy to see his grandson finally enjoying himself.

Verona joined Meru in the clapping and smiling. It really was fun, even if she wasn't participating. She had never been able to go to a party like this as long as she could remember.

Albert smiled at the sight of everyone having fun. There was a heavy burden on their shoulders; it was up to them to save the world. A party once in a while certainly would make their job a little enjoyable.

Miranda and Elizabeth both sat, small smiles on their faces. They didn't want to dance, but they couldn't keep their toes from taping to the beat of the music; the crowd's enthusiasm was catching.

The dance continued for a little while, then everyone broke away from their partners, forming a giant circle around the fire. Each person took the hand of the people on either side of them, making the circle whole. They began to move at a good, fast pace to their right, making the circle around the fire spin. Shana and Dart went around completely before the previous Dragoon of Light looked to her friends sitting to the side.

"Come on you guys! It's fun!"

Meru didn't hesitate a moment; she jumped to her feet and ran to the circle, putting herself between Shana and Danis, who was to holding Shana's left hand. They went around once before calling out to the others in their group.

Verona was the next to get to her feet, joining over and managing to catch Meru and Shana's hands before she was swept up into the pace of the circling people. It really was fun; the beat of the music took over their senses as they stepped with the tempo.

Dart, Shana, Meru, and Verona knew they wouldn't be able to get Hashel, Kongol, Miranda, and Elizabeth out to dance. But they might- just might- be able to get Albert to join them. They called to him each time they passed.

"Come on Albert! It's fun!"

"You gotta try it once!"

It took few tries before they got a reaction out of him, but he gave in and got to his feet. Meru and Verona immediately let go of each other's hands, extending them towards Albert, offering him to take them. He accepted and took his place between them.

He would have been embarrassed, as he was holding the hands of two ladies; one of which was closer to his age than his wife. However, he was unprepared for the pace of the circle, and was nearly swept off his feet; he had to concentrate on keeping up with the people around him. By the time he adjusted to the pace, the giddy rush of the experience had settled in and he found himself laughing along with his friends.

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Author's note: That party sounded like so much fun… Next chapter sooner or later; hopefully sooner.