Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun, anything related to it, except this characters. And some stuff. Like my Gba. I think.
Episode 11: The Stronghold
When Max, Leng and their new friend, Bril, reached the Lands beyond the Suhalla Desert, they turned west, to follow along the coastal line towards Magma Rock.
"Come on, guys!" said Max, now back in his usual smile "Let's go! We must reach Magma Rock".
But soon they would realize that they were not alone.
As they left the valley of the Suhalla Desert they came upon a strange rock formation, or sculpture. There was nothing special about it, save for the fact that it represented something like they had never seen before. A strange beast, which seemed like a Storm Lizard, but it also had three heads like a Chimera, and the tail of a Manticore. It was huge and repulsive, even for a statue, and even more for what it suggested, because it had been carved with many details, as if taken from the very beast. And it exuded a repulsive and horrid smell.
"I have never seen this... thing... before" said Max. He had taken a handkerchief to his nose. The others did the same.
"It doesn't fell right..." said Leng. And He was right. The creature was had a wierd grin on each of it's three heads. They were looking down at them as if it were to turn alive any moment.
"Let's get out of here..." said Bril. He was looking very carefully at the statue. He was a werewolf, and his instincts told him that this... 'thing'... was dangerous. Very dangerous. He saw something that shouldn't have been there. A faint light coming out of the beast's rightmost eye.
"Watch out!" He cried, leaping backwards. The others did the same, and then, the red color of the stone statue began to turn into a deep purple, while it's heads were turning a very deep red, and it's scorpion tail became a dark brown. The creature moved forwards heavily, each step made a great, round crater where the foot fell. Suddenly, it stopped moving, and spoke with a screeching and irritating voice.
"You are not welcome beyond this point" It grinned "I never expected to see you in this place. I thought you were all dead after Poseidon's 'mission'. Oh, But I see you have lost one of your precious djinn-hunters! Guess that fool was useful for a change".
"Who are you?" said Bril "Are you one of those Demons!"
"Of course I am, little werewolf. I am Krinzer. As you can see, this body is a mixture of three powerful monsters. I killed all three of them, and then I added their strengths to my own. And after I kill you" He added "Your bodies and souls will become part of me!".
"I don't think so" replied Max "I have already figured out your weakness, stupid creature".
"The bodies of the creatures that you killed" said Leng "are still weak to some kind of psynergy".
"Yeah" said Max, "The manticore's tail is weak against water, and the chimera heads too, which leaves me free to take on the Storm Lizard's body".
Krinzer took a step back, surprised. How had they realized that so quickly? That was his first mistake.
"Hah! It's true!" said Max, laughing. "I didn't know Demons were this stupid!"
"What?" shouted Krinzer.
"How did you know that?" said Bril, surprised.
"We didn't" said Leng, smiling. "But we thought that if we acted like we did, His reaction would prove it".
"And how did you know what Max was thinking?" he asked again.
"I mind read him. He was so close that I didn't even had to concentrate". Finished Leng.
"How dare you! You little Whelps! I'm gonna Kill you now!" Krinzer was extremely furious now, and He charged without thinking. That was his second mistake.
They simply jumped out of his way, and He hit the solid wall rock head on, and fell heavily. Several Rocks falled on top of him.
Bril ran towards his tail, which was able to move on it's own. It lunged at him several times, but he was too fast for it. And when He was near, He concentrated al of his might in a single slash with his claws, which cut it off cleanly.
"One down, two more to go!"
But Krinzer was not defeated yet. It stood up slowly, and began to concentrate his energy on a single, devastating attack. The three heads aimed at them and a red glow began to form around him.
"What do we do?" asked Bril "We can't launch an attack more powerful than that!".
"We avoid it" answered Max, smiling "Well, you avoid it. I got a plan".
"Are you going to unleash Mold again?" asked Leng.
"No. I will shield you. Bril, you cast your most powerful Mercury Psynergy against the heads. That will weaken them enough for Leng to cut. Then I, your fearless and powerful leader, slay the Lizard's body". He paused, while He took a Topaz from his bracelet.
"Now!"
Krinzer released an incredibly powerful Beam, made of concentrated Fire, but Max had already unleashed one of his Djinn.
"Granite!" He said. The Djinn created a yellow barrier in front of them. Leng and Bril jumped to one of the nearby hills and ran towards the Demon. When they were near enough, Bril stopped and concentrated The remaining Psynergy in his body. He made a sign and several Shards of ice began to form above them. "A glacier Spell" Leng thought. But soon He realized that He was wrong.
"Ice Missile!" The shards suddenly changed form. Instead of round or triangular, they became pointy. And Sharp. They hovered for a second, and then assaulted the three heads of the Demon, which roared and leaned back. Leng waited until the last Missile had penetrated the skin, and, unleashing his trusty Zephyr, jumped and beheaded the three of them with a single slash.
The Demon roared again, and it's hand moved up his neck. Suddenly, it began to pull at it's heads, ripping them from it's torso. The head of a Storm LIzard was there, soaked in blood, and looking terribly hurt, although still furious.
"You will pay for this, you little..."
But then several spires began to rain down on the creature. With the hardened rocks tearing away at it's skin, it wasn't long before the Demon was completely destroyed.
"I'll show you, Adepts! I'll return! And I'll be waiting for you!"
And with a final shriek of that horrible screeching voice, Krinzer was banished from Weyard. But it left behind something they had never seen before. A twisted black cube. It held large amounts of evil power, and seemed to take the light away from wherever it was. Max grabbed it and put it in his bag.
"What are you doing?" said Bril "That's part of the Demon's soul!"
"I know" He answered "Maybe someone can study it and give us some clue on how to defeat them".
That afternoon, after defeating the Demon, they saw a building near the beach. It was a tower covered in dark clouds. A strange red glow seemed to radiate from every single window in it. Leng smiled.
"This, my friends is the Hephaestus's stronghold. " He said "More than a stronghold, the tower is like a giant forge. Every single room in it is filled with orichalcum and mythril, but the lower levels are designed like an Inn, and many people travel great distances just to see this tower, and they could pay a fortune just for a glance at the forging process. We shall rest here tonight".
"Cool" said Max "I could use some sleep".
"Do you think they could let us see the forging process? " asked Bril. His black eyes were focused on the tower.
"No, i don't think so" Leng answered. "Besides, we're here to rest and re-stock before setting out again".
"Aww, come on" He replied, "just a little glance, please?" And he knelt before Leng. Max joined him.
"PLEASE?"
"Oh, all right" Leng said "I will try to convince one of them, but don't expect anything".
The Hephaestus's Stronghold was a remarkable construction. All around it were bazaars and tents. They belonged to people that had come to the tower, either to make a living, or to buy a special magical piece of equipment, or even adventurers that just stopped along the way.
From the moment they entered the tower, they noticed that there were several columns all around the great hall. They were thick and ocasionally, they glowed red. But when they entered one of the restaurants inside it they noticed that everyone turned around to look at them, and all conversation ended. The people that sold items suddenly stopped shouting their magical properties, and those auctioning the most powerful ones suddenly fell quiet. Two powerful yet somewhat young Adepts and a young werewolf. Leng could feel their eyes beaming on them as they picked one of the tables. Soon, the conversation returned, although in hushed voices and whispers.
"It's because of me" said Bril, sadly "I can hear them. They're saying: What's that? Who is He?... Do you think they could throw us out of here?"
"They'll have to get through my big, dead a..."
"Max!" Leng hissed " We can't fight, let alone kill, anyone. ANYONE, do you understand? We're on a mission for King Raniel, remember?"
"Yeah" Max said "Sorry about that".
Suddenly, one of the waitress came up to them, and gave them the menu. She glanced at Bril curiously.
"Can I get you something?"
"I'll have roasted chicken" said Leng.
"Me, too" said Max "Two orders for me please"
"I'll have salad, thank you". said Bril. The waitress looked at him confused, and then leaned closed to them.
"You don't have to worry, little guy. It's him (and she pointed at Max) which has caught our attention".
"Me?" Max replied. Bril's eyes suddenly noticed the bag.
"Look!"
It was stained with some sort of dark ink. Max checked inside, and found out that the darkness came from the Dark Cube. It had been extending to everything inside the bag, like some sort of goo. When Max lifted the cube, the darkness seemed to return to it, and everything inside the bag returned to their original coloration.
"What the hell is that?" said the waitress, seemingly very shocked.
"It's just something that we picked up during our travels" said Leng.
"It's...resonating with power..." she said.
"Excuse me?"
"Don't you know where you are?" She said, angrily.
"Well, we're on the Hephaestus's Stonghold, that guards the West borders of the Ankhol Republic..."
"Exactly! We Ankhol can feel the energy in anything. Be it ore, gems, or even the innards of a monster, we can tell it's magical properties with just one glance at it".
"And this... this cube is resonating with magical powers?" asked Bril, shyly.
"Exactly. They'll come and they'll want to forge it into something". She paused. "Hell, I want to forge it into something. Maybe a sword..."
"And who's the best in this 'craft' of forging items around here?" said Max. He already had a plan.
"The best around here is Sorun. He's been living here since before I was born" she said. "It's that guy over there".
Their gaze followed their finger to find an old and almost bald man. He was lying on the floor, drunk. His stomach was much bigger than it should, and He was missing three of his front teeth. His unshaved face seemed devoid of any earthly feeling.
"You're kidding me, right?" said Max.
"I kid you not. In fact, you might want to hurry. He works better when drunk".
"Are you sure?" He asked again.
"Yes, I'm sure. Go on. I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with".
"Excuse me, Master Sorun?" said Max.
"Unnnhh..."
Max frowned. This was better not a joke or...
"Master Sorun?" said Leng "I'll read his mind".
Leng raised his hand and touched the old man's head. He glowed purple for a second. Then, He blushed and removed the hand inmediatly.
"What did you saw?" asked Bril.
"I dare not tell you..." He answered.
"Uuunnnhh, w-what..." Said the old man, moving to one side.
"He's waking up!" said Max "Master Sorun, please, could you forge something out of this?" and He held the Cube near the old man's nose. Suddenly, his nose moved, as if smelling the Cube, and he opened his eyes.
"W-what... Watcsh zis' cube zingy?"
"That's right, it's a cube. Can you forge something out of it?" asked Max.
"Y-y-eah, I.. I guesh s-so"
"Then do it, you old stupid..., er" Max realized that everyone was looking at him. "I mean, old and wise master".
"A-all righty then!" said Sorun, standing up. He was very short.
"To the forge!" He said. But as soon as He took a step He fell face-first into the floor.
"Come on, I'll lift you up" said Max. He took the old man from the floor and carried him to a room in the third floor. Sorun took a key from his pocket and whispered something to it. The door opened, and Sorun hid his key again.
"That way no one else can open it" said Leng, "quite clever".
They walked through a short corridor and found themselves on a room barely large enough for the four of them. The walls were filled with swords, shields and other pieces of armor. They were all sparkling and shining, as if forged from stardust or Mythril. Bril suspected that they were actually made of those hard to find materials.
"Come on, now" said Sorun. He seemed a little more awake "This is very in...in..."
"Interesting?" said Leng.
"Yes! yes, interesting. It's very interesting" He frowned "What will it be, traveler? I can only forge one piece of equipment with this cube, so choose carefully".
"Er..." said Max. He hadn't thought about it. What would he want? A sword? No, his mace was superb. A helmet? No, He didn't wear helmets.
"A shield!" He said.
"A shield, hmm?" said Sorun "Good choice. I'm glad you chose me to forge this shield".
"Master Sorun?" said Bril "I would like to ask a favor of you, please?"
"A favor? And what d-do you wish to ashk of me, young lad?"
"Can we stay here while you forge it?" He answered. Sorun frowned for a moment. But just when Bril thought that his petition would be denied, the old man smiled.
"You seem trustworthy. I will let you see the secret handled down for generations amongst our people..."
"Really?" said Bril "Awesome!"
"Just stay over there, and don't move." said Sorun. They all obeyed.
The old man walked over to a wall and pulled a lever. The wall moved slowly, to reveal...
"It's a monster!" cried Bril.
"No!" said Sorun "It's not a monster. This is my assistant. Neyla. Come on sweetie, say hi" The monster roared.
"That's good! You're a good girl" Sorun said.
"Wait" said Max "You forge the items with the help of this monst...I mean, pet?"
"Yeah," said Sorun "is there a problem with that?"
"No, not at all" They said.
"Neyla is an Avimander. They usually live deep underground, in the foundations of Weyard. Nobody knows what's it like there, although they are Mars Aligned creatures, so most of us suppose that there is lava down there. This one sage had this crazy theory about lava being the center of the world, and that the volcanoes erupted because the pressure down there was enormous, and that Weyard would explode if they didn't. Then again, He always kept saying that the world was round. Stupid, crazy guy, if you ask me".
"And exactly how does 'Neyla' assists you, Master Sorun?" asked Bril.
"Oh you'll see. Here, Neyla. do your thing".
The creature nodded and opened it's mouth. It breathed fire into the Cube, which kept on changing shapes and colours, going from dark to yellow, and then to red. Then blue and finally purple. Neyla stopped the fire breathing, and Sorun used some pincers to take the now flat, purple goo. He put it in a pedestal and used a hammer to mold it into a large shield. They saw that with every hit, Sorun casted some Psynergy into the goo, which was changing colors again, and settled on a very dark purple. When the shield was finished, He throwed it in a small hole in the corner. They noticed that it made no sound, as if it had not reached the bottom yet.
"Uhh, Where is it?" said Max.
"I throwed it down that hole" said Sorun. Max frowned.
"I meant, where does that hole goes? What happened to my shield?".
"Oh, right. This hole" And Sorun signaled at Neyla "was made by her, when She was still a baby. It goes right to the bottom of the world".
"What?" said Max. Leng grabbed his left hand, while Bril grabbed his right.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT! You stupid, old..."
But then, a bright red light came from the little hole. There was a sudden flash, and it ended. The Shield floated on the room. A dark aura emanated from it, and someone (or something) had carved some runes into it's now dark, metal-like surface.
"Ack!" said Sorun "This shield is cursed. You cannot use it, or the creature that you slayed to get that cube will posess you".
"Don't worry" said Max "I got exactly what I need". And He reached for the shield. When He grabbed it, it glowed ominously for a split second, and the Cleric's Ring sparkled blue again. The Shield returned to it's original appearance.
"How? You should have been possesed by this evil presence!" said Sorun.
"This ring protects me from the curse" He answered, grinning. "So, what's so special about this shield?"
"What's so special?" said Sorun "That's the most powerful shield that I've ever made. Not only does it protects you, it actually makes you stronger!"
"If you say so..." Max said.
"It does!" Sorun said "Go and show it to everyone down there. They'll tell you the same thing as I did".
When Max returned to the main part of the tower, everyone hurried in to take a glance at the shield. Many people tried to buy it from him, until He finally said that the shield was cursed and that He was the only one able to wield it. Then they returned to their usual places.
"Hey traveler!" said one of the merchants.
"I told you, it's cursed..." Max said, but the Man showed him a two-handed sword.
"This is for him" He said, pointing at Leng.
"It's...for me?" He asked.
"Yes, it's for you, Leng" He said "I'm a Jupiter Adept too. I saw everything in your mind".
"You know that's not allowed" said Leng, but the man just shrugged.
"Just take it. It's name is: The Swift Sword!"
"That's a really dumb name" said Max.
"Just use it out there" He said "You'll know what to do"
"And for you, little guy" He said to Bril, "Magical Gloves. They'll greatly add to your psynergy".
"Thanks" Bril said. "But why are you helping us?"
"I know who you are" He answered quietly "And I know what hunts you. The Demons will send stronger assassins. Those that you have fought are nothing. You will need all the help that you can".
"How do you know that?" asked Max. The merchant grinned again.
"Let's just say, I'm a friend. Now go and rest, Djinn hunters. You will reach Kibombo in less than a day if you follow the road. And may the blessing of the gods be with you".
They left the tower the following day. Not only were they sure that they had better equipment. Now they knew that they were being helped by somebody out there. They didn't stop until they saw the great Magma Rock in the distance.
(A/N): Just a couple of things. The Hephaestus's Stronghold is NOT, the Ankohl tower from the game. If you look at any map, you'll see that it's further to the east.
Also, I'm taking the psynergies for the different tribes from different classes in the game.
Dragon Tribe - Isaac as a lv. 44 Dragoon (duh)
Werewolves - Sheba as a lv. 44 Warlock
Werebears - Isaac as a lv. 44 Paladin
Sea-dwellers(merman, gillman and others) - Mia as a lv. 43 Dark Mage.
If you think that they don't fit leave some suggestions in a review. That's it for now. See you next time.