It took a while to build up the courage to speak with Ethros and Korva, and to be honest Miyaka and I never managed to approach them. We were fortunate and, about three days after the horrible sandstorm, they approached us.
Miyaka and I were with Old Man Raoul at his shack in northern Morroc. He was a hat maker who had taken me in and acted, in some manner, as a father during my childhood. That's not to imply that we were always happy with him. Occasionally Miyaka and I would steal an apple or two from his cart, and he would chase us through the town, waving his walking stick and threatening to chop our hands off if he caught us. Then, we'd have lunch with him the next day. He never did chop our hands off, although I suppose if it had been anyone else he would have.
Lunch was a fine assortment of fruits, meats, and vegetables. We had one of each, which is more than most Morrocs could boast. Old Man Raoul smiled, his cheeks bulging out farther than his tiny little red nose while we ate. Miyaka and I had managed to get most of the sand out of our clothes, but they were still itchy, torn, and little more than rags. Old Man Raoul chuckled.
"If you two keep wandering around in outfits like that. You're bound to catch cold!" He said, refilling Miyaka's glass of orange juice. She gulped the new glass down in an instant, and he refilled it again. "Let's not drink too quickly, you'll get sick. Now, about your clothes." Raoul walked over to his wardrobe, and began digging in his pockets for the key.
"Don't worry about it, Ol' Man," I said, "We've taken a job from the thieves' guild. We just have to lure two criminals into the desert, and they'll make us members."
"Is that so? That sounds awfully nice of them." Old Man Raoul looked a little distraught, but the look was soon gone, and he smiled again. "Well, I think you two have had enough. Going to eat me out of house and home."
We helped Old Man Raoul straighten his shack, and then he gave each of us a Zeny. I pocketed mine, and I assume Miyaka pocketed hers too, but I didn't see what she did with it to be certain. Raoul put on his sombrero, and escorted us outside. As luck would have it, Ethros and Korva were right outside the hut. They were talking, and didn't notice us coming out.
"So, Korva, is my hat still stupid?" Ethros said laughingly. Korva was badly sunburned, and didn't seem very happy with Ethros.
"Yes, it is incredibly stupid." Korva snapped, "But, in your hat's defense, it's not nearly as stupid as its wearer."
The two looked to be on the verge of a brawl when Raoul drew their attention with a loud cough.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but I'd rather you didn't fight outside my shop. Now, if you would like, I could make you a sombrero if you would bring me the required components."
Korva and Ethros whirled to face Old Man Raoul, and Korva bowed.
"I would be very appreciative, sir," Korva said, "if you would do that for me. What do you need?"
"Now, now, there's no need to call me 'sir'," Raoul said, "My name is Raoul, and I'm a hatmaker."
"Greetings, Raoul, I'm Korva, and this is my comrade, Ethros." Ethros tipped his hat to Raoul, and chuckled.
"We have a friend back in Prontera named Raoul." Ethros said. "He's an aspiring acolyte, and a great friend. If you would tell us what you need for two, I'd like to take one home to him as a gift. It's a good idea, isn't it, Korva?"
Korva nodded and said, "Yes, it's a wonderful idea. What do we need?"
"Bring me 100 cactus needles, two guitars, and two straw hats, and I'll give you a pair of sombreros!" Raoul shouted, banging his fists together. During this entire time, my knees were shaking since I knew that these two were horrible murderers. I was afraid that they would kill us all after they heard how horrible the price for the hats was. 100 cactus needles, that's a lot of Mukas that need killing. Miyaka taped me on the shoulder, and whispered in my ear.
"We have all that stuff, remember?"
It suddenly dawned on me how I could save our lives, and get in the killers' favor. I took out my pack, gathered up the cactus needles I'd been collecting, yanked them out, and waved them in the air.
"Sirs, sirs," I shouted, "I have the materials right here. 100 cactus needles in my bag, and then Miyaka and I both have a straw hat and a guitar." Ethros walked over to me and smiled.
"Wonderful," he said, "It's very generous of you to offer to give us those things for free, but we can't accept it without giving you some payment in return." He started digging around in his pocket, and I had an impulse, something which I figured would work wonders.
"No, don't give us any money." I said. "Miyaka and I are awed by you two. I would really love to learn how to use a sword like Mr. Korva, and Miyaka said that she thought your magic was really cool."
Miyaka, like the smart girl she was, jumped right on the cue.
"Yes," she said, "I would love to learn magic from you, Mr. Ethros. If you two teach us, we'll count that as payment." She stuck out her hand towards Ethros, who looked at it curiously. I held my breath while I waited to see if he would turn us into mice or play into our hands. He reached his hand out, and took Miyaka's.
"That's an excellent deal." He said, "but it's not Mr. Ethros, or Mr. Korva. My full name is Ethros Kepler, and this is Korva Germaine." He took the items from us, and gave them to Old Man Raoul. Raoul went into his shop, and left us alone out front. I was so relieved that things had worked out this well.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Kepler, for accepting the bargain." I said with a bow, "and I look forward to your teachings, Mr. Germaine."
"I look forward to teaching you," Korva said, "What's your name?"
"I'm Lilliandrei, sir." I said. He twisted his face in thought.
"Ow, this is a hard one. Hmmmm…." He said, strumming his fingers against his head. "I know! All bow and no play makes for an annoying Lilliandrei!" He grinned and pointed at me. "So, quit the bowing and scraping, and let's spar, right now."
"But, I only have this knife." I said, showing my tiny little knife. Korva laughed, said that was fine, and unsheathed his sword. He took a lunge at me, and I did what instinct demanded: I dropped to the ground. His sword went over my head. I whipped out my knife, and drove it upwards towards his groin. I knew from experience that one strike to the balls would end the fight for good. He swung his sword around, and knocked my knife away.
"Not quite honorable." He said, accusingly. "A swordsman must be honorable." He took his sword, and swung it at me again. I blocked it with my knife, and was knocked backwards. I stood up, and found the tip of a sword against my throat.
"Not too bad, but we really need to work on your skills." He said. The steel was hot from the desert sun, and it was very uncomfortable. I flinched from the heat, and he pulled the sword away.
"Fist things first," he said, "You need to work on stance. Your legs are too close together. Spread them out, and angle your foot slightly. Good. Now, try blocking this next one."
Korva arched his sword over his shoulder and drove it towards my face. I swung my knife up to block it, and felt the force of the hit going down my arm. Afraid that my arm might break, I let the force push me backwards, and kicked my leg up, hitting his hilt. I flicked the knife around again, and went for his face. He spun his sword and swatted my knife with the flat of the blade, slid in towards my chest, and stopped with it poking me.
"Good!" He said, and he grinned. Ethros and Miyaka applauded. Ethros guided Miyaka away around the house, and Korva faced me again. After a few more pointers it was time to begin again. This time, when he swung his sword, I hit the side of it with my knife, pushing it away. He seemed very pleased, and doubled his efforts, always keeping himself one step ahead of me. I realized that he was indeed a master swordsman, and though I grew tired of his constant talk of "honor" I remembered the words of Red and Blue. So, I kept on sparring, taking what I liked and dropping what I didn't, long into the night.
Eventually I passed out from exhaustion, and I woke up in a room at the Inn. I was shirtless, and Miyaka was sitting on the chair beside me, patting my head with a cold cloth. Every muscle in my body felt as though it was being eaten by a horde of Andres, and even wiggling a finger sent new surges of pain swelling through me.
"Lil, you're awake!" Miyaka said. "Korva was terrified when you passed out. He carried you all the way back here, and left me to care for you."
"That. Tch… great." I gasped from the pain of speaking. I could tell that I'd pulled a few muscles yesterday, and assumed that I had hit my head when I passed out, since there was a huge knot there which banged the bed when I gasped, hurting me even more.
"Eek, don't talk." Miyaka said, as she quickly wrapped some ice in a bandage and put it on my knot. "I hope we can get you better and those two out to the desert soon. I can't stand this job. Ethros goes on and on about the fundamental make-up of the world and it's so boring. I mean, he doesn't think I'll be able to make my first fire bolt for at least a month! A MONTH! I don't think I could survive a whole month of meditations and study. Did you know he has eighteen books under that cloak? It's scary.""
"I bet" I said, gritting my teeth against the pain. I was going to say more, but then Ethros and Korva came in. Korva patted me on the shoulder. He might as well have shoved a sword through it, for how much it hurt.
"Sorry about pushing you too hard, man. I think you should rest a bit. You picked up really quickly." He said, wagging his finger in my face. I grinned, despite my pain, and bit at it, and everyone laughed. "You know what? I think that next we should work on using the environment. How about we go out to the desert when you're better?"
I opened my mouth, but instead started coughing, each cough aching in my chest. When the spasm ended, I grinned and said, "sure." He was playing into my hands, once I got out of bed we could go to the desert, and then Red and Blue would take over, and I'd be a certified thief. From there, my choices were endless. Korva grinned, and offered me a high-five, which I declined.
"Ethros, what's your prognosis?" Korva asked. Ethros looked over me, and frowned.
"He's defiantly bed-ridden for the rest of this week. He's pulled a hamstring, broken a rib, and that knot on his head doesn't look good. He may have a concussion. Unless we can find a priest, he's going to be stuck there for a bit. Korva, how about you look over him for a bit, I'll take Miyaka and we'll use this time to try to catch her up to him." Ethros smiled, and Miyaka smiled back. I knew her smile was fake; she hated study. Ethros took her out of the room, and left Korva with me. We joked a while longer, and he told me about his home, and his adopted son, Raoul. Eventually I went back to sleep, and dreamed wonderful dreams about gems and money and, for a reason I wasn't willing to accept yet, a dancing naked Korva.