Hi people!
Here's chapter eight, as I promised! ^_^
Wait, I didn't promise, but never mind that now…
Go on and read it already! ;)
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Chapter 8(Lilly's POV)
Excitedly, I ran ahead and stopped just in front of the weapon and armor shop. I felt happier than I had felt in ages; it seemed that my whole life was slowly getting into order. I hadn't been a very happy girl only a few months before, but Dad had finally come to his senses and I suddenly had a father I could identify with and even turn to when I should need advice. Naturally, the long time we hadn't talked to each other more than the very necessities was still a sore spot for both of us, but we were definitely getting over that.
Not only that, I also found friends I could really trust. I knew I could fully rely on Will and Kara, as I could also feel their trust in me. Most people didn't want to get to know me more once they found out about my social background or the skills I possessed. But Will and Kara were different: Most of my companions at Lunpa Fortress would've rather split up that money instead of sharing it because they wouldn't trust others enough…
Suddenly I sensed a burst of Will's and Kara's combined Psynergy, not unlike the ones last night. Seems somewhat weaker, though… I thought.
That moment, as if on cue, their aura grew stronger and their love and devotion for each other was once again palpable. I sighed; last night already I had felt a good deal of good-natured jealousy at their display of affection. They are such a cute couple… I thought. I wonder… Will I ever find a love as strong and true as theirs?
Don't worry, I bet you will. Will's voice suddenly popped up in my head, making me visibly jump and turn around. The same moment Root started giggling uncontrollably in my mind. You're losing it, Lilly, she laughed, you were so deep in thought you let those two sneak up on you and Mind Read you… Wait till I tell someone… Lilly the great thief caught by surprise…
I decided I wouldn't have my good mood ruined by Root's comments. Instead I asked Will, thinking: What makes you say that?
Well, you are a nice person, and you aren't exactly ugly either… came his reply. I'm afraid I can't predict your future or something even though I heard sometimes Jupiter Adepts have premonitions… But I don't think I'm experienced enough for that sort of stuff…
I agree with Will, though. Kara's voice appeared as well. You must have really tough luck if you can't *steal* the heart of a decent guy…
I was just about to tell her what I thought of that pun when an image appeared in my mind for a split second: It was the face of a boy about our age; he had short red hair with a tint of orange in it and his eyes were an emerald green. I had to admit to myself that I found him rather good-looking. Too bad, I thought, that this figment of my imagination has no heart to steal…
"Lilly!" Will's voice suddenly pierced into mind, interrupting my train of thought. "Snap out of it!" I blinked several times and looked at them confusedly. Apparently our mental connection had been severed the moment I saw this image.
"Are you okay?" Kara asked. "All of a sudden, we were thrown out of your mind…"
"Hehe, serves you right!" I said not without glee. "It wasn't me, though. I just saw a picture in my mind… You didn't send me anything, did you?"
Both of them shook their heads and I nodded; I had not really expected they had. "What kind of picture was it?" Will asked curiously.
"It was a face…" I said, the image reappearing in front of my inner eye. "Something was strange about him… maybe he's an Adept as well… Could it have been a vision? Like… a premonition?"
"Look, you need to be more precise about what you saw if you want my opinion on it." Will said flatly. "But as I said, I had no personal experience with visions and premonitions…"
"You had, yesterday night, when we took the detour to the Mayor's house." Kara interjected.
Will contradicted her. "But that was merely a feeling, no real vision."
"Well, I can recall this image really well…" I started again.
"Then why don't show us?" Will suggested. "Did that person look that evil?"
I gave a small laugh. "Nah, not quite! I think he looked rather nice…" Only after that I realized what I had said and I blushed. Kara smirked: "I understand… Are you sure you don't want to show us?"
"C'mon, that's nothing to be embarrassed about, you deserve to be happy, too!" Will said, noticing my face. "Let's all hope it was a true vision!" He bent closer to Kara and whispered audibly: "That'll keep her from bugging us all the time…"
Kara giggled. "But now let's take a look at the store, shall we? We don't want to be standing here forever!"
Nobody objected, so we entered the shop. I wanted to head to the weapons section right away, but Kara stopped me, saying: "Let's look for some armor first, we've got weapons already!" She briefly explained about the daggers they had confiscated from Mr. Thief the day before.
Reluctantly I turned back and joined Will and Kara as they stepped up to the left counter. "How may I help you?" the armor salesman asked.
"I'd like some armor for me and my two friends." Will answered.
"Ah yes. I believe we have just the perfect thing for these lovely ladies…" He turned around and opened one of the crates behind him, taking two sturdy-looking green pieces of cloth out of them. "Travel Robes! Just got them in yesterday!" He held up one of them so we could look at it from all sides. "Alas, they are a bit pricey compared to the standard Travel Vest, being 300 coins apiece…"
Will looked at me as though he had been insulted. Is this his idea of a joke?! his voice appeared in my mind, sounding insulted. In the game, they were only two hundred!
They are 200 coins usually. I told him. I've been to Bilibin twice already and the vendor there always sold them for two hundred. 300 coins is utterly ridiculous!
Is it common practise to barter in this world? Kara chimed in.
More so in the southern cities than here. I said, remembering a trip to Kalay when I was younger. My mother had still been alive back then, and she had taken me there to teach me the arts of negotiating. She had always believed one could achieve a lot with words only. Sadly, I hadn't been too successful, though. Seemed that I had inherited Dad's temper…
Maybe this guy thinks he can pull a fast one on you, since you're new in town. I finally said.
Not with me, though! Kara said determinedly and gripped Will's hand more tightly. Same procedure as with Mr. Thief! Okay, here we go… She took a step forward. "I have certainly misheard. Never mind though, I'll take both of them for 300 gold."
I watched as Kara started to haggle with the merchant. I quickly realized she had a special talent for this. "Look at this fine quality!" the shopkeeper struggled. "You will find that 300 coins is a fine prize indeed, even if it appears somewhat high…"
"Hmm…" Kara said thoughtfully, a shrewd look on her face. "I'll consider what you said. Let's talk about something else in the meantime. Assuming I wanted to sell some of my possessions here, I would receive the usual 75% of the buy value. Is that correct?"
The salesman nodded. "Yes, of course." He said, not quite grasping what Kara was getting at. Kara smiled confidently and relaxed. "In that case, we will have to postpone our business until this evening." The brown-haired, bearded man looked at her confusedly. "Will, Lilly, we're off to Bilibin. We're going to buy our Travel Robes there. This money…", she weighed the bag with her hand thoughtfully, "…will get us about eight to ten of them. The spare ones we will sell here. That's a margin of 25 coins each!"
The shopkeeper sneered. "You're bluffing! Without armor, you won't even survive halfways through the Goma Cave!"
"You sure?" Will asked confidently. "C'mon people, let's go." We turned around to leave, but as expected, the armor salesman shouted: "Wait! I make you a special offer: Both of them and this here Circlet for 500 coins only!" Will started glowing purple, a second later Kara did as well. She started negotiating with him again, while Will kept reading his mind. In amazement I watched how Kara pressed down the price more and more and finally bought two Travel Robes, a Wooden Armlet and a Circlet for 580 coins!! She really had a way with words…
Will took out his bag of money and paid, which took quite some time. The shopkeeper stared greedily at the bag, obviously asking himself what kind of fortunes were still in there. "Unfortunately, we don't carry heavy armor, so your only choice is the Travel Vest…" he said to Will. "Unless…"
He turned round again and removed a piece of chest armor from an armor stand. It consisted of flexible plates of metal and looked pretty lightweight. "This Full Metal Vest offers excellent protection and at the same time does not encumber your movements in battle. For only 1400 coins, it's yours!"
Was that thing that expensive?! I heard Kara ask silently. Nah, don't think so. Will answered. Can't remember the exact price, though. Wait a second, I'll just look it up.
"We'll need a little time to decide." He walked a few steps away, to the place between the two counters where he was out of sight for both men. He took out the purplish-blue thing with which he had shown me the moving images and kept looking at, occasionally pressing a few buttons. A minute later he turned it off again and put it away, joining us again. 1100 coins is the official price!! What a fraud!! He said in disgust.
"I carefully considered this offer and came to a conclusion." Kara said, pausing for effect, then abruptly changing her tone to an angry one: "This is ridiculous!!! You know as much as we do that this is worth no more than 1100 gold pieces! I'm willing to pay that, but not a single coin more! Otherwise we'll take a Travel Vest for 50 coins! Now please make up your mind, we have a quest to pursue!"
The shopkeeper stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then he regained his composure. "I underestimated your judgement. I shouldn't have done that. Accept my apologies. The Full Metal Vest is yours for 1000 coins."
"That sounds acceptable." Will said and the shopkeeper broke into a grin. They quickly exchanged money and goods.
"Well, since you did drop off a lot of cash here, you'd normally get some Game Tickets, but I believe you'll find these more useful. He reached under his counter and pulled up three backpacks, which he handed to Will as well. "Now please excuse me for a moment…" With that, he reached under the counter yet again and retrieved a sign with the inscription: "TEMPORARILY CLOSED". He set it up carefully and then disappeared into the back of the shop. Soon, we heard strange pounding noises, probably the sound of a hammer.
"Okay, now let's check out the weapons!" I said to my friends. "But first show me what you've got already, I daresay I know a little bit about weapons…"
Will and Kara removed three daggers from their newly acquired packs. I removed them from their respective sheaths and looked them over.
"These are plain old short swords." I said, indicating two basic-looking blades. "Very short short swords, to be more precise. The next thing in line would be a kitchen knife." I slid the tip of my finger over one of them and examined the cut. "Mediocre quality." I went on and healed the wound without a thought.
"That one's different, though." I showed them the third weapon which was slightly longer and had a red handle which was adorned with wave carvings. It also featured a vicious-looking pointed blade. "This one seems older than the other two, but is in much better shape! It might have a special power, but even if it hasn't, it will surely achieve a much higher price than these – OUCH!!"
I had just done the finger test again. Will and Kara gasped at the weapon which had been halfway through my finger before I knew it. Unfortunately the weapon salesman's attention was now on us as well. "You okay?" I quickly put my injured finger in my mouth and mended it so he couldn't see it. A second later, I removed it showing him I was alright. "Only joking! See?"
The shopkeeper wasn't convinced yet. His eyes darted to the blade which bore a distinct red stain, but Kara reacted quickly, whispering: "Restore." The sword gleamed as if hit by a stray beam of sunlight and the blood was gone thereafter.
The bald man stared intensely at the sword for another second, then looked away, finally minding his own business again. That was close! I conveyed to the others. We aren't supposed to show our Psynergy to outsiders!
Yeah, I know. came Kara's voice. I remember having read something like that in a book in Vale…
My grandparents have that book, too! I said excitedly, but then I remembered Vale didn't exist anymore and I sighed. I wish I could show you around Vale… It's so sad it's all gone now. Vale has always been a second home to me…
Vale will be rebuilt. Will said with such certainty that I actually believed him. I bet they can get rid of the crater with a few rounds of Grand Gaia…
Yeah, and with the limitless power of the Psynergy stone it's not even going to take long! Kara added, obviously liking the idea.
What is Grand Gaia? I asked, confused.
Psynergy. Came Kara's reply. The most powerful known Venus Psynergy, to be more precise. It unleashes the earth's might itself upon the enemy.
Suddenly, I saw moving images in my mind: A great chasm suddenly opened up on a grassy plain. A golden glow emerged from it and enormous chunks of rock started shooting out. After a while, the rift closed again and disappeared. That's what it looked like in the series, Kara explained, but I can't see why it shouldn't be possible to use it like this:
Another picture: I was standing in front of the Mt. Aleph crater (or at least what Kara thought it looked like). I was facing the Psynergy stone, eyes closed and arms raised towards the sky. As I watched, the ground began to tremble. Then shake. The tremor developed into a violent, ongoing quake. Suddenly, portions of the ground below me started springing up abruptly, forming bumps on the otherwise perfectly rounded surface inside the crater. The image stopped there, but thought further, it was clear that the crater would eventually be levelled.
Do you think that works? I asked them hopefully. That would be so awesome, restoring Vale to its old beauty…
That moment the shopkeeper's voice cut through our thoughts again: "Now if you wouldn't mind, please stop miming and make up your mind whether you want to buy something or not!"
We jumped, realizing how strange our faces and gestures probably seemed, all without talking a single word. Will peered into our bag of gold. There were only about 150 coins left.
"We decline." he said briskly. "Good day to you."
Meanwhile, the hammering noises had stopped and the armor salesman returned from the back of the shop. As we watched, he placed a sign in front of his counter went to fasten it to the floor with nails. "NO BARTERING" it said. Kara shot me a meaningful look and I had to turn away quickly to keep myself from bursting out laughing. Quickly, we left the shop.
Outside, we started by equipping our newly acquired armor. I put on my armlets while Will removed the Full Metal Vest from his pack. "Isn't this thing heavy?" Kara wanted to know.
"Not for a piece of armor." I said as we watched Will close it around his chest. He moved around a bit and said: "I think it's a little heavy."
"Have you ever worn armor before?" I asked him. He shook his head. "In our world there are no monsters. People don't need to protect themselves when they leave their cities."
"See, you're just not used to the extra weight." I said. "Within a week you won't even notice it anymore."
Kara had meanwhile put on her circlet and I had to admit it looked good on her. Will seemed to think so, too, because he was staring at her with a dreamy expression on his face…
"Now to the weapons!" she said, taking out the three blades again, complete with sheaths. "I guess we'll have to draw straws to decide who gets the better one!" She plucked some of them from the grass at her feet.
"I've already got the best armor, so one of you gets the sword." Will decided and took the straws from Kara, throwing one away.
"So who'll choose?" he asked, holding his hand out. "Lilly does." Kara said, not really bothering. This'll be so easy! I thought, stepping forward and examining the straws with a confident grin on my face. Within seconds I knew which one was shorter – as a Venus adept I drew part of my powers from plants, thus I had received extra herbology lessons when I was young. Makes this look like a joke! I thought as I made my pick.
"Okay, you get it." Kara said after comparing the lengths. She didn't seem very disappointed. Each of us fastened their weapon to their belt.
"Now we need a place where we can change into these!" I said, holding up my Travel Robe.
"Why don't you go back to the inn?" Will suggested. "I guess our rooms are still empty. I'll wait for you here."
So the two of us started walking back to the inn, but not before Kara had placed an affectionate peck on Will's cheek. I couldn't help smiling at the utterly happy look on his face. Remembering the image of the guy again, I thought: I hope I'll find out fast whether this was prophetic… It had better be…
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Okay, so that was chapter eight! Next chapter, they'll finally leave Vault…
I'm on a huge writer's inspiration wave! Maybe I can keep getting 'em out quicker now…
I'm only writing this for my own fun and thus I write it the way I like it, but that has proved rather successful… But you can still make suggestions! I could need a few pointers on the background I'm going to give my Mars Adept. As you can see, I've thought one up for Lilly, but I still need one for… him. Come on, leave your suggestions in the reviews!
Thanx
Quizer