Chapter 3: Of Lost Children and Health
Thomas turned and looked surprised to see the two of them standing in the doorway.
"Oh…Sarah, Katarina…how did you find this place?" He asked with a truly inquisitive tone. "Most people are too scared to journey into the slums at all, let alone this far."
"Well…I mean…we followed you, Thomas. I was really worried about you. You seemed so antsy, and I wanted to help,"
Sarah sputtered out, "I am sorry we had to spy on you…" "All is forgiven, Sarah. I should have just told you the truth and let you come with me. I kind of slipped off after you came all this way to visit."
Thomas spoke sincerely. "Anyway, this is my dear friend Sharl," he gestured to the man standing next to him. "And this is his wife, Muse."
"Hello…" the bedridden woman spoke, with a voice as light and flowery as a spring morning, "Welcome to our home…" her voice drifted off as she broke into a series of coughs, each one sending violent shakes into her tiny frame. She was a petite woman, with long, flowing hair of light blue. She was dressed in a green nightdress, and her skin was the pale white of one who rarely saw the sun. She greatly resembled a porcelain doll.
"I am sorry for my wife's state, but she has been quite sick recently," spoke Sharl. He was a tall, brawny man, with a shock of white hair and a yellow sleeveless shirt and muddy colored slacks. Katarina glanced at him when he spoke, and noticed a badly injured arm and hand. He was obviously crippled by some injury.
"Anyway, welcome to our home, ladies." He gave a kind smile to them, and returned to his wife's side.
"Oh, Sharl and Muse, these are my friend, Sarah and Katarina." Thomas spoke up, introducing the two of them.
"Nice to meet you," Muse said with a smile on her face. Two small children were playing on the floor behind Muse's bed. They looked quite happy, though they were dressed somewhat shoddily.
"Oh, I came here to give some money to Sharl and Muse. They need some help right now, what with their orphans and Muse's medicine. Don't worry…I was just stopping by. I can give you a tour of the city n…" Before he could finish, Thomas was interrupted by a tiny girl rushing inside, panting for breath.
"Sharl…SHARL!" she cried.
"What is it, Mitch?" he asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Sharl…Gon went in the Devil Palace and got trapped by monsters…Sharl, ya gotta help him!"
"Don't worry, Mitch, we will help him. I'm sorry I can't visit longer, but I have to go help Gon. Stay here and wait with Muse and the others. Thomas, will you help me?" Sharl spoke with a sense of urgency while grabbing a spear from the corner.
"Yes, of course, Sharl," he turned to the girls, "I'm sorry I can't give you that tour now, this has come up."
"Don't worry about it, Thomas," Katarina said kindly, "Hey, why don't we just help you? I don't think we have anything better to do."
Sharl spoke up. "That would be great, miss. Any help will be appreciated."
"Uh…are you sure about this, Kat? I mean…I can't fight at all…I'm useless to you…" Sarah said with a sense of despondence.
"You know that's not true, Sarah, and if things get dangerous, I will protect you." Katarina said with a reassuring tone.
"Alright…let's go. I will be fine." She said in return.
"Quickly now!" said Sharl with the voice of a commander.
Sharl led them into the northern part of the slums, and towards an eerily dark ruin of a castle. The slums grew sparser here, as if the original houses had intentionally been built farther away, and almost no one was seen nearby.
"That must be the Devil Palace," Sarah said plainly.
"Yes, it is…I don't know why the children wondered there anyway, but it is now a monster nest and a ruin of great mystery. It was abandoned so long ago, no one remembers what purpose it had." Sharl replied.
It was true, though. The palace had been visibly eroded by time and weather, as most of the turrets and towers had been reduced to brick piles and most of the once glorious stained glass windows had been shattered.
"Quite a spooky place indeed…" Katarina spoke, her voice trailing off.
They continued walking, winding up stairs and through courtyards until they finally reached the large wooden doors, which had begun to rot away. They stepped inside, and immediately Katarina noticed the immense number of goblins in the main hall. The room was simply crawling with them. They had small grayish humanoid bodies, and wore only red berets on their heads and green shoes on their feet. Their features were gnarled and repulsive, and their greedy eyes darted about, looking for treasures to salvage.
"I take it we will have to fight them, Sharl." Thomas spoke with a hard tone, monotonous and dull.
"Yes, ready yourselves." He brought his spear up, and Thomas drew his bow from beneath his cape. He grasped an arrow from the hidden quiver and knocked it. Katarina, in turn, drew her epee from its sheath, and took a charging stance. Left alone, Sarah had nothing with which to fight, and thus grabbed a wooden pole from the rubble, joining her comrades.
"Sarah…are you sure you can fight?" Katarina asked worriedly.
Sarah replied with an unsure tone, "No…but I want to help, so I must try." She clasped her makeshift staff tightly, and readied for Sharl's signal. Sharl tapped his spear on the wooden floor, and all of them charged the group of goblins.
The goblins were practically a small army, numbering nearly 30, but they were weak by themselves and would be easy to eradicate if they could not band together. Sharl made the first move, thrusting his spear through the chest of the nearest goblin, its little body convulsing in a quick death. Katarina was not far behind and jabbed quickly into two of the little devils that tried to rush her. One thrust laid them both to waste, the bodies forming a tiny heap. Thomas was quick with his bow, and shot three consecutive arrows, the shafts passing through the puny bodies of the goblins. He even spitted two of them on one arrow in a trick shot, leaving him proud of his accomplishment, but no less aware of the other goblins. Sarah tried to join in the killing, and swung her pole wildly into a group of the creatures. The blow was fierce, and knocked them all out cold, but she lost her balance from the ferocity of the throw and fell to the floor. Seeing their chance, 5 goblins ran at her, knowing they could easily overpower her, but Katarina held true to her vow and came to her rescue, her epee parting the crowd by spitting some of them upon it. Sarah stood up quickly to gain an advantage again, and brought her pole down fiercely, cracking the skull of the final goblin. She smiled at Katarina, partly to thank her, and partly to show her excitement at actually helping the battle.
During Sarah's first kill, Sharl and Thomas had mopped up the remainder of the goblins, their corpses strewn across the ground in a helter skelter pattern. Sharl sent a smile at Katarina and Sarah as he wiped his brow of the sweat that had gathered during the strenuous foray, and he spoke bluntly.
"Let's be leaving now…Gon is still inside."
The group followed him anxiously, watching carefully for any more goblins that may have been lurking, but found none.
Then came the stairs.
Sharl finally stood at the top of a massive spiraling staircase, spanning a good 4 stories into the ground, going deeper and deeper like a great hole in the earth.
"I assume he's somewhere down there…" Thomas said wearily, walking ahead of Sharl, his bow relaxed in his grip and his mood less than cheery. The battle had tired him, what with the frequent nocking of arrows and dodging the puny but fierce fists of goblins. His slouching posture was noticeable even as he grew more distant from them.
For some reason, the rest of the group had just stood at the top of the steps. Katarina began to walk briskly, breaking into a run, pausing only to gesture that the others come with her, and they caught up with Thomas after a great deal of hustling.
Sarah's eyes were still bright with excitement from the last battle, though it had long since passed and they were now making the horrible trudge to the base of stairs. She happily smiled at everyone, though they were focused on the walk, and not on the suddenly buoyant Sarah that was following them, with pep in her step and a smile on her face.
Sharl groaned as they finally reached the bottom of the staircase, and saw two doors on the left or right side of the case.
"Well, should we split up, or just try one door at a time? His tone was a bit weak, denoting how tired he was.
"I believe we should stay together…I mean, it was tough enough fighting those goblins as a group…if they ambush us while we're split, there's little chance we'd be able to stop them." Katarina's cool judgment was shining through again, and SHE led them into the left door, not Sharl.
The girl's soft purple hair fluttered as she entered a room, a sudden draft sweeping around them and rustling their clothing. She stepped apprehensively, checking for goblins, and then walked forward, her ears piqued. But, she did not hear goblins moving, but rather, soft cries and sniffles. A smile came to her face as she darted around the corner and up a small set of stairs, vaulting some debris and finding Gon sitting on top of a dresser in the adjoining room. She sighed with relief as she snatched up the child and carried him back to Sharl, his face lighting up with relief as Katarina's purple visage fluttered around the corner with Gon in her arms.
Sharl smiled at Gon, but scolded him gently while the others collapsed to the ground, resting.
"I never thought finding one child could be so strenuous…" Sarah, who moments earlier was full of pep and enthusiasm, spoke with the same exhausted tone that the others had.
Katarina could only smile, saving her breath, and let her body relax for a brief respite before returning to Muse, Gon in tow.
Sharl smiled at the group, helping each of them to their feet, and they trekked back to Muse, who nearly fell out of bed sitting up to hug Gon when he returned. Her pale, sickly body had gained a glow that was almost like an improvement in health at his sight, and she uttered her words of admiration to the three who helped her husband.
"I really don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come along…I honestly can't bear the thought of losing him. You've restored my faith in people…" Muse said, drifting off as Sharl interjected, almost trying to avoid an impending anecdote.
"Well, it's getting late, and Muse needs rest," He said to them, with a friendly smile. "I'm sure you all can rest at Thomas' house, and be sure to stop by again." He herded them towards the door, not seeming impolite, and smiled as they walked away, taking their cue to leave.
"How…odd," Katarina muttered as she walked, contemplating his behavior.
"I know…he was so friendly before, but just then he acted like we should have left long before…" She walked up next to Sarah, joining in her conversation and thought instead of trailing behind.
Thomas, who had been ahead of them, turned back to speak. "Well, Sharl's an interesting man, and he and Muse have been through a lot. Sometimes it's best not to question someone's judgment…" Thomas continued walking, the group reaching his house moments later.
"You two can stay in Sarah's guest room, since we didn't arrange for Katarina to stay as well, and I'll be in the first room in the hallway. Don't hesitate to wake me if you need anything, alright?" Thomas said to the two, retreating to his quarters. Sarah and Katarina just smiled at each other and wandered into the room, somehow managing to make the small bed comfortable and spacious enough for the two of them. They both feel asleep within moments, sweet dreams and rest coming easily and freely.