Chapter Eleven:
Mute and Elrik

"You will not go alone, however," continued Chris "You shall have Mute's aid, as well as the company of Brooke and Blair. We also have a contact up there in Vesuvia, but he calls himself the Summoner."

"Boy," said Cyrus, "doesn't that sound like a happy family?"

"Don't worry," replied Mute, "I'll stay in my cabin most of the way there."

"Unlike him," added Blair, "we'll be glad of the company."

Despite the hate felt towards the Vesuvian Adepts, The survivors of Anegon boarded the ship with the others. Mute, like he had said, stayed in his own cabin. He was the only one who didn't share a cabin, however. Cyrus, Ryan, and Allen slept or fenced in their cabin, Mekae and Brooke did many different random things during the night, and thus got moved into a cabin on the other end of the ship, where they would be free to 'experiment'. Blair and Richard talked about battle, war, and the histories of their respective cities, of which everyone else usually found boring.

One thing Blair and Brooke found very interesting were the accounts of the battle for Anegon and Reno's ambushes.

"He's the one behind the warriors from Vesuvia, I think," said Blair, after hearing the stories of Reno's actions.

"He's got to be," agreed Richard. "He led them into battle against us."

"We'll have to be really careful, unless we want to fall into another of his traps," included Mekae.

"Are you sure Mute will recognize this person?" asked Richard. "They all might look alike."

"I told him to stay on the beach until we came," Mute replied, stepping out of his cabin. "He'll be easy to recognize. I've seen him before."

"I hope he will be," Richard replied. "It would be awfully embarrassing for you to lead us all into a trap."

Days passed, and they always sailed northward. The waters got colder, and Richard was the only one to be found on deck. He seemed to enjoy the cold air, to the amazement of everybody else.

"Hey guys, I see something!" Richard exclaimed after three weeks of travel.

A lone figure was on the shore, shooting out a large plume of fire, almost as if he was guiding the ship to a safe port.

"That would be him," pointed Mute.

The ship dropped anchor in the cold bay, and a gangplank was dropped onto the shore. The figure walked up.

"By the color of your faces, I am guessing you're from Hydrolonia. Welcome to Vesuvia. My name is Elrik, and I hope you came prepared to not be caught."

"So do I, my friend," replied Mute. "What can you tell us about Nick's military strength?"

"There's not much left really," he replied. "They all were killed at Anegon."

"And we made damn sure we killed them all!" That was Cyrus in one of his periodical outbursts.

"I wasn't told that Adepts from Anegon would be here, Mute. That could give us away."

"We'll try not to kill anyone," remarked Richard.

"It'll be hard, but we can probably do it," added Allen.

"Well that's nice to know," sneered Elrik. "Now come on, before it gets too cold out here."

They headed towards a small city sitting at the foot of a mountain. It looked very cozy inside, and was probably very pretty when it wasn't covered with three feet of snow.

Brooke was the first one to go down from the temperature, and Elrik, looking like the maker of winter, carried her into his house, where they would all stay. It was no coincidence that none saw them approach, as nobody would be out in this snowstorm.

"I'll move the boat to where it won't be seen," said Elrik, moving swiftly back into the strengthening blizzard.

Richard and Mekae mover Brooke close to the fire, and sat down, trying not to fall asleep before Elrik could get back. It was no use, however. Elrik came back a few hours later to find Richard the only one awake, and the rest sleeping near the warm fire.

Richard, however, was looking for an answer. "How did you first meet Mute?" he asked the fire Adept.

"He is an old friend of mine. We weren't born here by any chance. We lived farther south, in Prox. At least, we did until the great storm covered it with snow."

"But didn't someone light the Mars lighthouse just north of Prox?" Richard inquired.

"Yes, after the storm. By then, though, the two of us were living up here, where the true might of the Mars Clan lies. Prox was only a front, you see. The idiot Reno had whipped the warriors of our city into a frenzy and then thrown them against Anegon, a heavily defended city whi-"

Richard interrupted, "I'm from Anegon. Give me some credit, I do know a little about its defenses."

Elrik laughed. "As no doubt you do. Where you actually in the battle?"

"Yes I was, and if you're going to ask me about Afrin, yes he was there also."

"Afrin?" Elrik looked confused. "Was that the name of the creature that the warriors said could not be killed?"

"Yes."

"Why was he there?"

Richard sighed. "It's a long story."

"Well," Elrik laughed, "Judging by your companions we have the time."

After Richard got finished telling his journey up to the point where they had met, Elrik looked pale.

"You mean he's killing you off one by one?"

"If we don't stop him," replied Richard.

"Well, then, I guess I'm coming. By the looks of it a fire Adept might come in useful."

"Yep. But were going back to Anegon, so don't flaunt your powers there."

"Ok."