Mia was correct; Imil was extremely small compared to Vale or Vault. It
was scarcely more than a village of four hundred people, and it didn't
spread very far. Imil was a relatively plain town with no real niceties of
the big city, but it wasn't so small it was uncomfortable. The town
square, the hub of the town, was a buzz with the afternoon traffic.
Several vendors were lined up along the sides of the paths, but no one
seemed really busy in Isaac's opinion. The houses and buildings were all
constructed of wood and some kind of mortar-like material used for
insulation. The roofs were wooden too, and it looked like the houses could
withstand considerable cold. Along the outside of the town were some small
defensive towers meant to hold off the occasional wandering monster.
"Marveling at our glorious hole in the ground?" Sheba asked Isaac, who was studying the town carefully.
"Hole in the ground? I think this town is quite nice, miss Sheba." Isaac stated.
"Please, drop the polite knight stuff. I don't care to be called miss." Sheba sighed. Isaac nodded in compilation and they continued to walk.
"Well, I know Imil isn't exactly the Vale that you're used to Isaac, but what do you think? Be honest." Mia asked.
"I rather like this town; it's much quieter than Vale, and it seems like one could know the entire town. Imil is missing some of the nice things in Vale, but those are only material. Tell me, has a Luna Knight been posted in this town?"
"No, actually." Mia replied.
"What? I thought Luna Knights were supposed to be posted in every town in Angara."
"No Knight ever came to fill the position. I don't think anyone wanted to come out all of this way for a career." Mia sighed. "I don't blame them. Imil is so far out of the way and small that anyone posted here would likely be forgotten."
"That's a shame you feel that way, Mia." Isaac stated. "I don't see anything wrong with this town as it stands today." As if to prove Isaac wrong, a woman screamed. Isaac saw a man running from a house carrying a purse under his arm, making a beeline for the outskirts of town. "Damn. No rest for the wicked, I guess." Isaac sighed. He turned to his left, where a weapon vendor's stand stood. He quickly grabbed a long sword. "Mia, stay here. Sir, I'll be back and I'll pay for this in a little while. I'm going to stop that thief!" Isaac stated, charging after the criminal with a new long sword in his grip.
"Isaac!" Mia shouted. "Sorry, Leo." She said, turning to the weapon vendor.
"It's okay. If he's a friend of yours, he's bound to be trustworthy."
"That, and he's a Paladin's squire. He will keep his word. . . I can feel it." Mia stated, dashing off after Isaac. It may have been against what she was told, but she didn't care.
***********************************
Isaac dashed after the fleeing thief with all of his might. He had no intention of letting a petty purse snatcher get away if he could do something about it. Isaac frowned grimly as he pushed his fatigued legs harder to push him close to the crook. He was thirty feet behind the crook, and catching up quickly. His heart pounded in his chest and his lungs burned in fury as his breathing rate increased. His ordeal with the wolves had tired him already, but even with that, he wasn't ready to give up the ship yet. Now within ten feet of the bandit, Isaac drew the long sword while slipping the scabbard over his back. They had passed out of town now, and were in a high grassy field.
"Halt! You have no chance of getting away! Surrender in the name of Sol!" Isaac shouted ahead of him. The burglar turned and glared at Isaac, and began to run harder. Isaac frowned, realizing nobody wanted to do things the easy way anymore. Sheathing his sword, he pumped his arms and legs harder and easily kept the new pace with the thief. Although his muscles burned and his sinews strained, he pressed forward until he was in arm's reach of the burglar. Isaac lunged forward with all of his might, tackling the thief to the ground, where they rolled against each other until Isaac finally halted them, positioning the crook beneath him, his throat in Isaac's hands. "Give it up. I don't want to resort to violence." Isaac stated, keep his grip loose, but firm.
"Do your worst, Paladin." The thief smirked, obviously picking up on Isaac's Sol comment."
"Fine. I'm taking you in." Isaac said, wrestling the man's arms behind his back. Isaac dragged him to his feet and pushed him forward. He drew his sword and put the tip near the man's throat. "Don't make me have to do this, sir. There are far better things than death, and far worse things than prison."
"Isaac!" Mia shouted, finally catching up to them.
"Mia, I told you to wait at the weapon stall!" Isaac stated. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help you, Isaac!" Mia said, mildly defensive and hurt.
"Mia, it's not like I'm not grateful for your help, it's just I don't want you getting hurt. There's no need for excessive force." Isaac sighed. "Here. It's the purse he stole." Isaac said holding out the purse in his left arm, keeping his sword trained on his captive. Mia took it carefully and regarded Isaac's words.
"Excessive force? I'll show you excessive force! Get them!" The thief shouted. Two men leapt from the reeds around them brandishing blades and leapt at Isaac. The young Paladin squire kicked the first bandit to the ground while sizing up his two new opponents. He then realized his handicap; Mia. She was unarmed, and she was the one with the purse. It was stupid of him to give it to her; he had just put his friend in mortal danger. Isaac leapt forward and spun back to act as a direct shield for the Mercury Adept.
"Mia, I know you won't listen to me, but I want you to run as fast as you can from here. Get the purse back to Imil while I hold these people off."
"You're correct, Isaac. I have no intention of listening to you." Mia smiled. "I can take care of myself. I'm not some helpless maiden you read about in fairy tales." She concluded as a bandit lunged toward her and Isaac. Moving quickly, she shot her arm forward and several points of ice slashed the aggressor bandit. The person yowled in pain and fell to the ground, wounded. The first bandit was back on his feet by now and the third bandit was regarding the Paladin and the healer carefully. The two remaining bandits split up, and tried to hit Isaac with a cross attack. Isaac parried the first blow, while Mia pounded the second person away with another stream of Ice. Isaac, after parrying the first bandit's blow, struck forth with his free fist, striking the bandit in the jaw and knocking him out cold. Isaac sheathed his sword coolly and looked to Mia, who was now binding the wounded bandits wrists together with a spare piece of rope. She then casted Ply on their wounds, closing them up, but she stopped short of healing most of the pain.
"Interesting attacks, Mia. I didn't expect a healer to harbor such offensive power. Also, I'm glad you showed restraint in not killing these men." He said, dragging the unconscious thief behind him as they walked back to Imil. The other two were walking in front willingly, not wanting to be frozen again.
"I don't like death either, Isaac. As a healer, I understand death is a stage of life, but I'm abhorrent to ending the lives of anyone prematurely. By the way, I wanted to say thanks to you. These thieves have been plaguing the town for about a week now; we've been trying to catch them, but they've always escaped us."
Isaac smiled. "Glad to be of service. Now, after we drop these creeps off at the local jail, I have to go back to the weapon vendor and pay for this sword."
**************************
"Sorry about the delay in payment, Mr. Leo." Isaac stated, handing the man one hundred coins.
"It's okay, sir. Please, just call me Leo. I'll think of what you did as taking the sword for a trial run. How was it? Did the sword work out well?" Leo questioned. Isaac glanced at the silver handled sword and turned back.
"Yes, it was very light, yet it seemed as though it was forged with the strongest and sharpest of steel."
"It's a light material that's even stronger than steel; that sword is made out of what I like to call Titanium. It's extremely light and extremely durable; that's why the sword is so pricey."
"Well, the blade seems to be made of fine quality, so my purchase is not a poor one." Isaac smiled. "Thank you again, Leo." Isaac turned away, returning to Mia and Sheba.
"I must admit, Isaac. . . I really underestimated you." Sheba stated, studying Isaac again. "You truly are a Paladin. I'm impressed."
"Thank you, Sheba, but I only did what any warrior of Angara would've done."
"And he's modest, too." Sheba smiled at Mia. Sheba turned back to Isaac; but this time, she noticed how exhausted Isaac really looked. Although the Venus Adept stood tall and firm, his face seemed as though he was very tired. "I think we should get you home, Isaac. You look exhausted."
"I'm fine, Sheba." Isaac replied.
"Isaac, no you're not." Mia stated, firmly. "Listen. Your eyes have bags beneath them, your expression is of fatigue even if you don't mean it so, and you look as though you haven't eaten for a long time. You listen to me, Isaac. You're coming home with us, going to bed, and then you'll eat something, understand?!" Isaac smiled.
"Yes, Mia. I understand. Very well, we'll do this your way then. You are the town's healer after all."
***************************
As Isaac lay snoring lightly in the guest room bed, Sheba and Mia stood talking as Mia prepared the food that they would eat for dinner.
"So, what do you think of him, Mia?"
"I don't know what to think."
"I think you are impressed with him. He's done the town a favor by ridding us of those thieves. Though, I can't help but to think that there's something more to him than this."
"Well Sheba, shortly after I found him, he saved me by fighting off a pack of wolves unarmed. You should've seen him, Sheba. . . he was graceful, full of power, yet he seemed to be of full control and restraint. That Isaac is certainly an unusual warrior."
"He fought a pack of wolves with his fists?" Sheba questioned. "Well. . . somehow I don't seem surprised."
"That's not the half of it, Sheba. . . remember the dream I've been having?"
"You never explained it to me, but. . ."
"In my dream, I'm always in the ruins studying an etching of an angel in the floor of the temple, when the spirit of death comes for me. I try to fight it, but no matter what I did, Death always seemed to win out. And as all seemed lost, the angel of the etching came to life and stopped Death in his tracks, saving my life."
"What does it have to do with Isaac?"
"Well, Isaac WAS the angel in my dream. . . it was him. He had the same eyes, voice, face, and hair. His body was the same, except the angel had wings. Sheba, I've seen him in my dreams for days now, and now he's actually here in person." Sheba looked shocked as Mia finished.
"Mia, if you were anyone else, I wouldn't believe you at all. But. . . you say you've seen him in your dreams?"
"Maybe they were premonitions. . ."
"Or symbolic."
"Perhaps both." Mia replied. "I'm curious of who Isaac really is. . . he says he comes from Vale, and I believe him. However, there's something strange about him. . ."
"I think you might have a crush on him, Mia." Sheba smiled, jokingly.
"Please Sheba, grow up."
"Well, you have to admit, he is very kind and he's quite considerate. Not to mention the fact that he's really cute."
"You're correct in saying he's well-behaved, but keep in mind, he's a Paladin in training, so he would never be interested in love."
"Well, you're likely correct in that belief. Though, wouldn't you want to go out with him if you had the chance? I think I would."
"Sheba, please."
"You're in denial." Sheba smiled. "Okay, I'll stop. Jeez, Mia. . . you're so much fun to tease, you know that, right?"
"I guess I do now." Mia sighed. "So, do you think Isaac will help with thrashing the monsters that have decided to show up around here recently?"
"I'm sure."
Mia paused for a moment before responding. "Sheba, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it almost that time of the year? . . ." Mia asked, fearfully and sadly.
"I'm afraid so." Sheba replied, her voice equally depressed. "I hope they stop this year."
"They haven't in the past, so why should they now?"
"You're right, Mia. All we can do is hope for a miracle. I don't even think Isaac could help us."
"Well, if he truly is the angel I dreamed of. . . he could." Mia sighed. "All we can really do is pray that he's strong enough to help us."
"It really makes me mad! No matter how well we prepare ourselves for them every year, they always swat us aside like flies!" Sheba said, out of anger and sadness.
"Sheba, let's drop it for now. . ." Mia replied, trying to comfort her friend.
"Mia, if there's anyone that should be more upset about it than me, it should be you!" Sheba snapped. Mia's expression darkened after Sheba's remark. The Jupiter Adept paused before continuing. "I'm sorry. . . please, I didn't mean it like that."
"It's okay, Sheba. There was nothing either of us could do then. Let's just drop the whole thing now."
"Fine by me." Sheba sighed.
*******************************************
"Has there been any sign of Isaac in the hillsides nearby?" Felix asked, atop a horse given to him by Mayor Wing. Ivan and his mount stood by his side.
"I'm afraid not, Felix. Wing's sent several scouts around to look for him, but there's no sign of him anywhere. It's like he dropped off the face of the earth." Ivan replied. Felix's expression hardened slightly.
"Do you really think he's alive, Ivan? Is it even a possibility?"
"Yes, definitely." Ivan stated. "I'm sure Isaac's alive, but something else troubles me. During the night, I did some research on creatures native to this area. Storm Lizards are not indigenous to this habitat."
"What do you mean?" Felix questioned.
"What I'm saying is that Storm Lizards aren't supposed to even exist out here."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that lizard was summoned here for some purpose."
"Summoned?! You're joking! Who'd want to summon a Storm Lizard outside Vault? It doesn't make any sense! Besides, who would have the power to summon and control a creature of that power?"
"Perhaps whomever summoned it did not wish to control it."
"That doesn't make sense either, Ivan. If you summon a creature, generally one would control it, not let it run rampant along the countryside."
"Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye, Felix. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for the happenings here recently. However, we shall concern ourselves over this matter at another time. We must find Isaac now."
"Ivan! Felix!" Garet's voice shouted, and the two Adepts turned to see the Mars Adept charging toward them. "Come with me! We found something!" Ivan and Felix nodded in compliance and followed Garet on horseback. After a few moments, Garet stopped at a small patch of woods. Felix and Ivan quickly dismounted and joined the Mars Adept in the shade of the trees. Garet quickly pointed to a large oak tree with an interesting addition. The massive timber had an extra protruding limb; a metal long sword.
"It's Isaac's sword!" Ivan stated. "Is there any sign of Isaac out here?"
"Not yet." Garet shrugged. "I figured it would be better to let you guys know that I found something. It might give us a better avenue of search."
"Well, he did just change our search pattern from total circle to a cone." Ivan sighed. He turned as he saw Dargon riding back toward them on horseback.
"Now what do we do, Felix?" Dargon asked.
The Venus Adept sighed. "Okay, Dargon, you go report to Picard what has happened here, get a search party, and come back and help us. I'm sure the king will be able to help us here."
"Okay, what will you guys be doing?"
"Digging up what ever else we can on Isaac's location. Maybe we'll get lucky." Felix replied. "Move it, Dargon. We have precious little time to waste."
"Right. I'll see you in a couple of days, Felix. Stay out of trouble!" Dargon stated, rearing his horse back into the direction of Vale. "Hyah!" Dragon grunted, sending the horse into a full gallop. Felix sighed and searched the earth around the tree.
"No sign of anything else out of place here. Well, Isaac was holding his sword when he was pulled in. Perhaps he simply lost hold of it and it was flung randomly from the tornado." Felix said. "I think we're on a wild goose chase out here. Let's go back to Vault. I'm sure Wing's search party has been assembled by now."
"Wait. I thought I heard something." Ivan said, pointing his staff in the direction of a bush. It rustled several times, and Ivan prodded it with his weapon. Several sparrows flew from the bush, twittering angrily. The tiny birds flew off quickly, and Ivan sighed in relief. "At least it wasn't a monster." Ivan turned his head to the sound of clashing steel behind him, catching glimpse of Garet dueling with a Skeleton Warrior.
"Damn!" Garet shouted, pushing the creature back with a swift kick of his foot. "It's a trap!" Four additional warriors jumped into the fray, and each Adept had at least two enemies to dispatch.
"Spread out and fight." Felix ordered, drawing his long sword in time to parry the blow of an enemy. He pushed the warrior away and turned to swing at the second enemy approaching him. The second skeleton leapt at Felix from the air, and the Venus Adept scarcely had time to block the onslaught. After his opponent landed in front of him after clashing swords, Felix delivered a swift kick to the sternum of the enemy skeleton. The skeleton reeled back a couple of feet, giving the Adept enough time to rush forward and snap its head off its shoulders with the blade of his sword. The first skeleton rushed Felix from behind, but the Paladin was too experienced to be caught by such a basic maneuver. Felix simply danced left from the attack, and countered with his own shot. The creature's rib cage shattered from beneath it, causing the shoulders of the skeleton to snap off. The warrior was now essentially a standing spinal column, which Felix was obliged to slice in half with his long sword.
Ivan smiled as the two skeleton warriors he was charged with defeating rush toward him. These pathetic creatures were no match to a mage of his caliber. He decided as much as it was unlike him, that he would play with the stupid undead warriors before frying them into ashes. As the first skeleton rushed directly at him, he simply danced away, using his cape like one of a toreador. "Ole!" Ivan shouted, grin beaming on his face as he whipped away his cape from the warrior. He slipped it back on and leapt backward, staff in hand. The second warrior stalked up more slowly, spoiling Ivan's fun. The first warrior, still not satisfied with the failure of his previous charge, dashed forward and Ivan again leapt out of the way. The skeleton wasn't as lucky this time. Its outstretched sword point got lodged into a tree, and it struggled to free its only weapon. Ivan, bored with the first skeleton, blasted it into oblivion with a Plasma attack. He turned to the other skeleton, who was still being hyper- cautious about coming too close. Ivan frowned. This skeleton was going to be boring, so he figured to finish it now. He threw his arm forward, and a Storm Ray turned its white ivory body into black ashes.
Garet frowned as he dueled with his opponent. This skeleton seemed smarter than an average one, but it lacked the strength to be anything that would require an army to defeat. His opponent was very skilled with his blade, and he matched even Garet's excellent swordplay swing for swing. If this skeleton was raised from the corpse of a warrior, it was likely that of a famous Luna Knight; its aggressive technique matched up at the very least. Garet frowned as he shoved the skeleton away again. His immense girth may have made him clumsy sometimes, but the Mars Adept was damned strong and could nearly move mountains with his power. Garet pointed his sword tip at the skeleton and his weapon began to glow a fierce red color.
"Eat this!" Garet shouted, blasting the skeleton away with a powerful Heat Wave attack. The skeleton immediately burst into flames and burned to an inanimate crisp. The large Mars Adept turned back to his friends. "Well, that was fun."
"Indeed." Ivan grinned.
"This was too easy. . ." Felix snorted, freeing Isaac's sword from the tree after sheathing his own. "There's something fishy about these woods. I intend to find out exactly what's going on in here!"
"First we need to get back and assemble Wing's search party." Garet corrected. "Then what do you propose we do?"
"Search this hellish forest until we find either Isaac or what's causing all these monsters to appear. Step up, comrades! We have little time!"
"Marveling at our glorious hole in the ground?" Sheba asked Isaac, who was studying the town carefully.
"Hole in the ground? I think this town is quite nice, miss Sheba." Isaac stated.
"Please, drop the polite knight stuff. I don't care to be called miss." Sheba sighed. Isaac nodded in compilation and they continued to walk.
"Well, I know Imil isn't exactly the Vale that you're used to Isaac, but what do you think? Be honest." Mia asked.
"I rather like this town; it's much quieter than Vale, and it seems like one could know the entire town. Imil is missing some of the nice things in Vale, but those are only material. Tell me, has a Luna Knight been posted in this town?"
"No, actually." Mia replied.
"What? I thought Luna Knights were supposed to be posted in every town in Angara."
"No Knight ever came to fill the position. I don't think anyone wanted to come out all of this way for a career." Mia sighed. "I don't blame them. Imil is so far out of the way and small that anyone posted here would likely be forgotten."
"That's a shame you feel that way, Mia." Isaac stated. "I don't see anything wrong with this town as it stands today." As if to prove Isaac wrong, a woman screamed. Isaac saw a man running from a house carrying a purse under his arm, making a beeline for the outskirts of town. "Damn. No rest for the wicked, I guess." Isaac sighed. He turned to his left, where a weapon vendor's stand stood. He quickly grabbed a long sword. "Mia, stay here. Sir, I'll be back and I'll pay for this in a little while. I'm going to stop that thief!" Isaac stated, charging after the criminal with a new long sword in his grip.
"Isaac!" Mia shouted. "Sorry, Leo." She said, turning to the weapon vendor.
"It's okay. If he's a friend of yours, he's bound to be trustworthy."
"That, and he's a Paladin's squire. He will keep his word. . . I can feel it." Mia stated, dashing off after Isaac. It may have been against what she was told, but she didn't care.
***********************************
Isaac dashed after the fleeing thief with all of his might. He had no intention of letting a petty purse snatcher get away if he could do something about it. Isaac frowned grimly as he pushed his fatigued legs harder to push him close to the crook. He was thirty feet behind the crook, and catching up quickly. His heart pounded in his chest and his lungs burned in fury as his breathing rate increased. His ordeal with the wolves had tired him already, but even with that, he wasn't ready to give up the ship yet. Now within ten feet of the bandit, Isaac drew the long sword while slipping the scabbard over his back. They had passed out of town now, and were in a high grassy field.
"Halt! You have no chance of getting away! Surrender in the name of Sol!" Isaac shouted ahead of him. The burglar turned and glared at Isaac, and began to run harder. Isaac frowned, realizing nobody wanted to do things the easy way anymore. Sheathing his sword, he pumped his arms and legs harder and easily kept the new pace with the thief. Although his muscles burned and his sinews strained, he pressed forward until he was in arm's reach of the burglar. Isaac lunged forward with all of his might, tackling the thief to the ground, where they rolled against each other until Isaac finally halted them, positioning the crook beneath him, his throat in Isaac's hands. "Give it up. I don't want to resort to violence." Isaac stated, keep his grip loose, but firm.
"Do your worst, Paladin." The thief smirked, obviously picking up on Isaac's Sol comment."
"Fine. I'm taking you in." Isaac said, wrestling the man's arms behind his back. Isaac dragged him to his feet and pushed him forward. He drew his sword and put the tip near the man's throat. "Don't make me have to do this, sir. There are far better things than death, and far worse things than prison."
"Isaac!" Mia shouted, finally catching up to them.
"Mia, I told you to wait at the weapon stall!" Isaac stated. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help you, Isaac!" Mia said, mildly defensive and hurt.
"Mia, it's not like I'm not grateful for your help, it's just I don't want you getting hurt. There's no need for excessive force." Isaac sighed. "Here. It's the purse he stole." Isaac said holding out the purse in his left arm, keeping his sword trained on his captive. Mia took it carefully and regarded Isaac's words.
"Excessive force? I'll show you excessive force! Get them!" The thief shouted. Two men leapt from the reeds around them brandishing blades and leapt at Isaac. The young Paladin squire kicked the first bandit to the ground while sizing up his two new opponents. He then realized his handicap; Mia. She was unarmed, and she was the one with the purse. It was stupid of him to give it to her; he had just put his friend in mortal danger. Isaac leapt forward and spun back to act as a direct shield for the Mercury Adept.
"Mia, I know you won't listen to me, but I want you to run as fast as you can from here. Get the purse back to Imil while I hold these people off."
"You're correct, Isaac. I have no intention of listening to you." Mia smiled. "I can take care of myself. I'm not some helpless maiden you read about in fairy tales." She concluded as a bandit lunged toward her and Isaac. Moving quickly, she shot her arm forward and several points of ice slashed the aggressor bandit. The person yowled in pain and fell to the ground, wounded. The first bandit was back on his feet by now and the third bandit was regarding the Paladin and the healer carefully. The two remaining bandits split up, and tried to hit Isaac with a cross attack. Isaac parried the first blow, while Mia pounded the second person away with another stream of Ice. Isaac, after parrying the first bandit's blow, struck forth with his free fist, striking the bandit in the jaw and knocking him out cold. Isaac sheathed his sword coolly and looked to Mia, who was now binding the wounded bandits wrists together with a spare piece of rope. She then casted Ply on their wounds, closing them up, but she stopped short of healing most of the pain.
"Interesting attacks, Mia. I didn't expect a healer to harbor such offensive power. Also, I'm glad you showed restraint in not killing these men." He said, dragging the unconscious thief behind him as they walked back to Imil. The other two were walking in front willingly, not wanting to be frozen again.
"I don't like death either, Isaac. As a healer, I understand death is a stage of life, but I'm abhorrent to ending the lives of anyone prematurely. By the way, I wanted to say thanks to you. These thieves have been plaguing the town for about a week now; we've been trying to catch them, but they've always escaped us."
Isaac smiled. "Glad to be of service. Now, after we drop these creeps off at the local jail, I have to go back to the weapon vendor and pay for this sword."
**************************
"Sorry about the delay in payment, Mr. Leo." Isaac stated, handing the man one hundred coins.
"It's okay, sir. Please, just call me Leo. I'll think of what you did as taking the sword for a trial run. How was it? Did the sword work out well?" Leo questioned. Isaac glanced at the silver handled sword and turned back.
"Yes, it was very light, yet it seemed as though it was forged with the strongest and sharpest of steel."
"It's a light material that's even stronger than steel; that sword is made out of what I like to call Titanium. It's extremely light and extremely durable; that's why the sword is so pricey."
"Well, the blade seems to be made of fine quality, so my purchase is not a poor one." Isaac smiled. "Thank you again, Leo." Isaac turned away, returning to Mia and Sheba.
"I must admit, Isaac. . . I really underestimated you." Sheba stated, studying Isaac again. "You truly are a Paladin. I'm impressed."
"Thank you, Sheba, but I only did what any warrior of Angara would've done."
"And he's modest, too." Sheba smiled at Mia. Sheba turned back to Isaac; but this time, she noticed how exhausted Isaac really looked. Although the Venus Adept stood tall and firm, his face seemed as though he was very tired. "I think we should get you home, Isaac. You look exhausted."
"I'm fine, Sheba." Isaac replied.
"Isaac, no you're not." Mia stated, firmly. "Listen. Your eyes have bags beneath them, your expression is of fatigue even if you don't mean it so, and you look as though you haven't eaten for a long time. You listen to me, Isaac. You're coming home with us, going to bed, and then you'll eat something, understand?!" Isaac smiled.
"Yes, Mia. I understand. Very well, we'll do this your way then. You are the town's healer after all."
***************************
As Isaac lay snoring lightly in the guest room bed, Sheba and Mia stood talking as Mia prepared the food that they would eat for dinner.
"So, what do you think of him, Mia?"
"I don't know what to think."
"I think you are impressed with him. He's done the town a favor by ridding us of those thieves. Though, I can't help but to think that there's something more to him than this."
"Well Sheba, shortly after I found him, he saved me by fighting off a pack of wolves unarmed. You should've seen him, Sheba. . . he was graceful, full of power, yet he seemed to be of full control and restraint. That Isaac is certainly an unusual warrior."
"He fought a pack of wolves with his fists?" Sheba questioned. "Well. . . somehow I don't seem surprised."
"That's not the half of it, Sheba. . . remember the dream I've been having?"
"You never explained it to me, but. . ."
"In my dream, I'm always in the ruins studying an etching of an angel in the floor of the temple, when the spirit of death comes for me. I try to fight it, but no matter what I did, Death always seemed to win out. And as all seemed lost, the angel of the etching came to life and stopped Death in his tracks, saving my life."
"What does it have to do with Isaac?"
"Well, Isaac WAS the angel in my dream. . . it was him. He had the same eyes, voice, face, and hair. His body was the same, except the angel had wings. Sheba, I've seen him in my dreams for days now, and now he's actually here in person." Sheba looked shocked as Mia finished.
"Mia, if you were anyone else, I wouldn't believe you at all. But. . . you say you've seen him in your dreams?"
"Maybe they were premonitions. . ."
"Or symbolic."
"Perhaps both." Mia replied. "I'm curious of who Isaac really is. . . he says he comes from Vale, and I believe him. However, there's something strange about him. . ."
"I think you might have a crush on him, Mia." Sheba smiled, jokingly.
"Please Sheba, grow up."
"Well, you have to admit, he is very kind and he's quite considerate. Not to mention the fact that he's really cute."
"You're correct in saying he's well-behaved, but keep in mind, he's a Paladin in training, so he would never be interested in love."
"Well, you're likely correct in that belief. Though, wouldn't you want to go out with him if you had the chance? I think I would."
"Sheba, please."
"You're in denial." Sheba smiled. "Okay, I'll stop. Jeez, Mia. . . you're so much fun to tease, you know that, right?"
"I guess I do now." Mia sighed. "So, do you think Isaac will help with thrashing the monsters that have decided to show up around here recently?"
"I'm sure."
Mia paused for a moment before responding. "Sheba, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it almost that time of the year? . . ." Mia asked, fearfully and sadly.
"I'm afraid so." Sheba replied, her voice equally depressed. "I hope they stop this year."
"They haven't in the past, so why should they now?"
"You're right, Mia. All we can do is hope for a miracle. I don't even think Isaac could help us."
"Well, if he truly is the angel I dreamed of. . . he could." Mia sighed. "All we can really do is pray that he's strong enough to help us."
"It really makes me mad! No matter how well we prepare ourselves for them every year, they always swat us aside like flies!" Sheba said, out of anger and sadness.
"Sheba, let's drop it for now. . ." Mia replied, trying to comfort her friend.
"Mia, if there's anyone that should be more upset about it than me, it should be you!" Sheba snapped. Mia's expression darkened after Sheba's remark. The Jupiter Adept paused before continuing. "I'm sorry. . . please, I didn't mean it like that."
"It's okay, Sheba. There was nothing either of us could do then. Let's just drop the whole thing now."
"Fine by me." Sheba sighed.
*******************************************
"Has there been any sign of Isaac in the hillsides nearby?" Felix asked, atop a horse given to him by Mayor Wing. Ivan and his mount stood by his side.
"I'm afraid not, Felix. Wing's sent several scouts around to look for him, but there's no sign of him anywhere. It's like he dropped off the face of the earth." Ivan replied. Felix's expression hardened slightly.
"Do you really think he's alive, Ivan? Is it even a possibility?"
"Yes, definitely." Ivan stated. "I'm sure Isaac's alive, but something else troubles me. During the night, I did some research on creatures native to this area. Storm Lizards are not indigenous to this habitat."
"What do you mean?" Felix questioned.
"What I'm saying is that Storm Lizards aren't supposed to even exist out here."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that lizard was summoned here for some purpose."
"Summoned?! You're joking! Who'd want to summon a Storm Lizard outside Vault? It doesn't make any sense! Besides, who would have the power to summon and control a creature of that power?"
"Perhaps whomever summoned it did not wish to control it."
"That doesn't make sense either, Ivan. If you summon a creature, generally one would control it, not let it run rampant along the countryside."
"Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye, Felix. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for the happenings here recently. However, we shall concern ourselves over this matter at another time. We must find Isaac now."
"Ivan! Felix!" Garet's voice shouted, and the two Adepts turned to see the Mars Adept charging toward them. "Come with me! We found something!" Ivan and Felix nodded in compliance and followed Garet on horseback. After a few moments, Garet stopped at a small patch of woods. Felix and Ivan quickly dismounted and joined the Mars Adept in the shade of the trees. Garet quickly pointed to a large oak tree with an interesting addition. The massive timber had an extra protruding limb; a metal long sword.
"It's Isaac's sword!" Ivan stated. "Is there any sign of Isaac out here?"
"Not yet." Garet shrugged. "I figured it would be better to let you guys know that I found something. It might give us a better avenue of search."
"Well, he did just change our search pattern from total circle to a cone." Ivan sighed. He turned as he saw Dargon riding back toward them on horseback.
"Now what do we do, Felix?" Dargon asked.
The Venus Adept sighed. "Okay, Dargon, you go report to Picard what has happened here, get a search party, and come back and help us. I'm sure the king will be able to help us here."
"Okay, what will you guys be doing?"
"Digging up what ever else we can on Isaac's location. Maybe we'll get lucky." Felix replied. "Move it, Dargon. We have precious little time to waste."
"Right. I'll see you in a couple of days, Felix. Stay out of trouble!" Dargon stated, rearing his horse back into the direction of Vale. "Hyah!" Dragon grunted, sending the horse into a full gallop. Felix sighed and searched the earth around the tree.
"No sign of anything else out of place here. Well, Isaac was holding his sword when he was pulled in. Perhaps he simply lost hold of it and it was flung randomly from the tornado." Felix said. "I think we're on a wild goose chase out here. Let's go back to Vault. I'm sure Wing's search party has been assembled by now."
"Wait. I thought I heard something." Ivan said, pointing his staff in the direction of a bush. It rustled several times, and Ivan prodded it with his weapon. Several sparrows flew from the bush, twittering angrily. The tiny birds flew off quickly, and Ivan sighed in relief. "At least it wasn't a monster." Ivan turned his head to the sound of clashing steel behind him, catching glimpse of Garet dueling with a Skeleton Warrior.
"Damn!" Garet shouted, pushing the creature back with a swift kick of his foot. "It's a trap!" Four additional warriors jumped into the fray, and each Adept had at least two enemies to dispatch.
"Spread out and fight." Felix ordered, drawing his long sword in time to parry the blow of an enemy. He pushed the warrior away and turned to swing at the second enemy approaching him. The second skeleton leapt at Felix from the air, and the Venus Adept scarcely had time to block the onslaught. After his opponent landed in front of him after clashing swords, Felix delivered a swift kick to the sternum of the enemy skeleton. The skeleton reeled back a couple of feet, giving the Adept enough time to rush forward and snap its head off its shoulders with the blade of his sword. The first skeleton rushed Felix from behind, but the Paladin was too experienced to be caught by such a basic maneuver. Felix simply danced left from the attack, and countered with his own shot. The creature's rib cage shattered from beneath it, causing the shoulders of the skeleton to snap off. The warrior was now essentially a standing spinal column, which Felix was obliged to slice in half with his long sword.
Ivan smiled as the two skeleton warriors he was charged with defeating rush toward him. These pathetic creatures were no match to a mage of his caliber. He decided as much as it was unlike him, that he would play with the stupid undead warriors before frying them into ashes. As the first skeleton rushed directly at him, he simply danced away, using his cape like one of a toreador. "Ole!" Ivan shouted, grin beaming on his face as he whipped away his cape from the warrior. He slipped it back on and leapt backward, staff in hand. The second warrior stalked up more slowly, spoiling Ivan's fun. The first warrior, still not satisfied with the failure of his previous charge, dashed forward and Ivan again leapt out of the way. The skeleton wasn't as lucky this time. Its outstretched sword point got lodged into a tree, and it struggled to free its only weapon. Ivan, bored with the first skeleton, blasted it into oblivion with a Plasma attack. He turned to the other skeleton, who was still being hyper- cautious about coming too close. Ivan frowned. This skeleton was going to be boring, so he figured to finish it now. He threw his arm forward, and a Storm Ray turned its white ivory body into black ashes.
Garet frowned as he dueled with his opponent. This skeleton seemed smarter than an average one, but it lacked the strength to be anything that would require an army to defeat. His opponent was very skilled with his blade, and he matched even Garet's excellent swordplay swing for swing. If this skeleton was raised from the corpse of a warrior, it was likely that of a famous Luna Knight; its aggressive technique matched up at the very least. Garet frowned as he shoved the skeleton away again. His immense girth may have made him clumsy sometimes, but the Mars Adept was damned strong and could nearly move mountains with his power. Garet pointed his sword tip at the skeleton and his weapon began to glow a fierce red color.
"Eat this!" Garet shouted, blasting the skeleton away with a powerful Heat Wave attack. The skeleton immediately burst into flames and burned to an inanimate crisp. The large Mars Adept turned back to his friends. "Well, that was fun."
"Indeed." Ivan grinned.
"This was too easy. . ." Felix snorted, freeing Isaac's sword from the tree after sheathing his own. "There's something fishy about these woods. I intend to find out exactly what's going on in here!"
"First we need to get back and assemble Wing's search party." Garet corrected. "Then what do you propose we do?"
"Search this hellish forest until we find either Isaac or what's causing all these monsters to appear. Step up, comrades! We have little time!"
