Okay, a shorter chapter here (for me anyway) but it contains everything I wanted to put in. I haven't anything to say, let's be on with the show.

Disclaimer: Yes, I do own Golden Sun. And Golden Sun two. Yeah, that's right. And you aint getting them, haha! That's right, two little cartridges that have consumed my life, and what feeble mind I once possessed. I own them. But do I own the rights to them? Ah, well, that's a little different… thus, I disclaim all ownership of such things.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

LORD BABI'S REQUEST

Isaac groggily opened his eyes, trying to bring into focus the stone ceiling above him. He felt tired, weak, weary and hungry. He could feel that he was lying on his back in a comfortable bed with thick covers pulled up to his chin.

"Good morning, Isaac," Mia said sweetly from beside the bed, where she sat on a wooden stool. As Isaac sat up, she hugged him tightly. "I knew that you would be alright!"

"Hey, you made it!" Gare cheered, giving a friendly, light punch to Isaac's shoulder. Light as it was, he accidentally hit a bruise causing Isaac to wince in pain. "I knew you were made of tough stuff."

"How do you feel, Isaac?" Ivan asked from next to the Fire Adept.

"Uh… okay, I guess," he replied slowly as Mia released him. Actually, now that he thought about it, he wasn't okay, but he was well enough. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" Garet asked, furrowing his forehead.

"I remember winning Colosso," the Earth Adept replied. "But then I sort of blacked out."

"That was due to over exertion," Mia explained. "Combined with your injuries and blood loss. Especially that strained neck that Satrage gave you. It very nearly broke it."

"So that's what made me pass out?"

"Yep, but Mia made you all better!" Garet smiled. Isaac let his head sink back down to the pillow.

"I think I still want to sleep, though," he groaned.

"No time, Isaac," Ivan informed him. "We have a quest remember?" Isaac groaned. How could he forget? Inside, he steeled himself to get up and forge his way onward. "Besides, Lord Babi wants to talk with us." For some reason, Isaac really didn't feel like talking with that old man. But he knew he had to, it was important for the quest.

"Alright, then, let's go," he sighed.

XXX

Two of the Tolbi soldiers outside of their door led them to Babi's personal chambers. Inside they found Iodem and Babi waiting for them.

"Welcome, Isaac and friends!" Babi said with a wide smile. Iodem regarded them with a polite smile and inclined his head.

"I'm glad you could make it," he said.

"Congratulations on your Colosso victory!" Babi said, clapping Isaac on the shoulder. "I knew you would succeed!"

"Thanks…" Isaac replied. "To be honest though, I almost thought that I wouldn't make it at some points."

"But you succeeded! As I knew that you would! I never doubted that you had it in you." For some reason, Isaac felt that Babi was just saying that to try and make him like the old man better.

"Thank you…"Isaac repeated, a little uncertain.

"Although I did notice that you fainted at the end there…" Babi frowned in concern that almost seemed false. Or perhaps it was just his imagination. "Must have been a terrible effort… I trust that you are alright now?"

"Yes, I feel a lot better now," the Earth Adept replied.

"He's recovered quite well," Mia put in matter-of-factly.

"Ah, yes, the recuperative powers of youth!" Babi chuckled. In his eyes, Isaac thought he saw a glimmer of longing or melancholy.

"Okay, so why exactly were we summoned here?" Garet asked impatiently.

"Please!" Iodem hissed. "You must speak politely to Lord Babi!"

"Its okay, Iodem," Babi assured his aide. "They may speak freely with me." Babi looked back to the four Adepts. "I wanted to thank you all personally for rescuing me when I was trapped in the Altmiller Caves. I've already disclosed everything to Iodem."

"Yes, I was quite shocked to say the least," Iodem said. "No one else seemed to have noticed, but I thought that there was something strange about how Isaac fought and won the tournament, but I wouldn't have known what if Lord Babi had not explained this 'Psynergy' to me and showed me the Cloak Ball."

"Even we were surprised when we first saw it," Ivan said. "I never actually thought that it was possible to turn invisible with Psynergy."

"So, would you like to hear about Lemuria?" Babi asked.

"Yeah, why do you keep bringing up that old legend for, anyway?" Garet asked.

"Well, when I first saw you, and realised that you could see my Psynergy, I was incredibly shocked," Babi explained. "Especially when I saw you, Miss Mia," he gestured to the healer by Isaac's side. "With you blue hair; I was sure that you were a Lemurian."

Mia raised her blue eyebrows at this and said, "Really?"

"So basically," Isaac started, "because we were Adepts, you assumed that we were also Lemurians." Babi nodded at this.

"Correct. I had no idea at the time that Adepts could be found anywhere else."
"What makes you so sure that there are Adepts in Lemuria?" Ivan asked. "Or even that Lemuria exists?"

"Oh, I know it exists," Babi replied casually. "I've been there before."

"WHAT!" everyone else in the room exclaimed in shock, Iodem included.

"You have been to the legendary Lemuria!" Babi's second-in-command asked disbelievingly.

"That's impossible!" Garet exclaimed. "You're lying!" Iodem didn't even notice the Fire Adept's insult.

"I do not lie." Babi said coldly, fixing Garet with a powerful stare of the sort that leaders give to their subjects when they're being reprimanded. "I never lie."

"When?" Iodem stammered. "How?"

"I travelled to Lemuria over one hundred years ago," the Lord of Tolbi explained. "During the Great Flood. I travelled there with my old friend, Lunpa."

Lunpa? The legendary Righteous Thief, another fairy tale! One hundred years ago?

"Are you serious?" Garet asked incredulously.

"Of course I am!" Babi replied indignantly.

"You mean the rumours about you are true?" Iodem, asked hesitantly, pale with shock.

"Yes, indeed," Babi nodded. "I am, in fact, one hundred and seventy five years old." Iodem looked almost ready to faint.

"One hundred and seventy five years old…" Mia repeated softly. "That's… impossible… just impossible!"

"How did you live this long?" Isaac asked.

"With the Lemurian Draught," Babi explained simply. "The very draught you brought me, young Isaac. The water of the fountain of youth, quite literally."

"And this draught makes you live forever?" Ivan asked.

"Not quite," Babi replied. "Rather, it slows the ageing process considerably. Even in Lemuria, there is still death, but only after their sense have failed from centuries of use."

"But you also have to drink it regularly," Mia realised. "Otherwise the effects wear off, like what happened with you."

"That is correct," Babi said with a sigh. "Sadly, I don't have enough to continue living for very much longer. That's why I need to find Lemuria again, to find more draught!"

"I can understand your desire to live forever," Mia started, "but…"

"I don't want to die!" Babi pleaded with desperation in his eyes. There was a brief, awkward silence.

"So… you want more of this Lemurian draught?" Isaac asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes… yes, that is correct." Babi said, regaining his dignity.

"So, why don't you just go back to Lemuria and get some?" Garet asked.

"Because I cannot go back to Lemurian," Babi replied. "Lemuria is on a small island in the centre of a vast ocean. In the Great Eastern Sea, it is in a part known as the Sea of Time. It is a place of eternal mists, and shifting currents. It is not easy to find. It was pure chance that I found it the first time, during the Great Flood.

"This is why I have been building Babi Lighthouse. I've sent many ships exploring into the Great Eastern Sea to find it. But none can ever find it in the eternal mists and shifting currents.

"It is terrible that we had to force the inhabitants of Lalivero to build the Lighthouse," he confessed in mock sympathy. "We even had to… take care of their idolised 'Child of the Gods', Sheba. We poured a lot of money into the operation, but it is necessary, for only with the light of Babi Lighthouse could our ships find it."

"How did you leave Lemuria last time, then?" Ivan asked.

"Ah, I left in a Lemurian ship," he explained. "For only a Lemurian ship, unique to their culture, could find a way in without the aid of the Lighthouse."

"Then, why don't you just go back in that ship?" Garet asked.

"Unfortunately, that is not possible," Babi said regrettably. "For Lemurian ships can only be piloted by Adepts."

"How did you get out of Lemuria, then?" Isaac queried.

"Well, as you already know, I can use a small amount of Psynergy for my Cloak ball. That's an item I… acquired from Lemuria. I learned how to summon a small amount of Psynergy from the Adepts there, as well as how to pilot their ships."

"How come you can't use it now, then?" Mia then asked.

"Oh, I'm getting old," Babi sighed. "What meagre Psynergy abilities I once had are failing. That's why I need you." He looked Isaac in the eye. "I have a request for you."

"Let me guess…" Garet muttered under his breath.

"I would like you to take my Lemurian ship, and sail it to the Sea of Time so that you can get me more Lemurian draught." Isaac considered it. "I can assure you, a most substantial reward would be given."

"What do you think, Isaac?" Garet whispered into the Earth Adept's ear. "Should we take it?"

"No, we can't," Isaac answered. "We have our own quest. We're heading to Venus Lighthouse, and we must get there."

The fate of the world hangs in the balance.

"Of course, I understand," Babi nodded. "But this would seem to be a good fate, for I also have need of reaching Venus Lighthouse. None of my scholars have been able to find a way to enter it. Perhaps you Adepts could solve the riddle that blocks the entrance."

"I think we can," Isaac replied. I sure hope so, because we have to!

"Excellent," Babi smiled. "For, if we can reach Venus Lighthouse aerie, then we will have no need of Babi Lighthouse, and will be able to set the Laliverans free."

"That would be good," Isaac replied with a smile.

"Then, afterwards, you could help me search for Lemuria when you're quest is done." Babi looked at Isaac pleadingly.

"If our quest is a success," Isaac answered slowly, hesitantly, "we'll be able to do that."

"Splendid!" Babi cried, with a sigh of relief. "Then it is a deal!" Isaac noted that Babi showed no interest in what their quest actually was.

"We'll need you're help in succeeding, though," Isaac added.

"Ah, of course." Babi said. "I did, after all, promise you a request. Name it."

"There's this group we're following, see, and we need to stop them," Isaac explained. "If you could have your soldiers arrest them on sight…"

"It will be done," Babi declared. "Simply give me their descriptions." Isaac did, and Iodem wrote them down on a piece of parchment. "Iodem, see to it that orders for all people matching those descriptions be apprehended at all costs be delivered to all outposts by carrier pigeon."

"Yes, my lord, it will be done," Iodem replied monotonously.

"There are two hostages," Isaac added. "One of them is Kraden, your Alchemy Sage."

"He's been kidnapped?" Babi raged. "Unacceptable! Iodem, have our troops ordered to bring him back alive and unharmed!"
"Will do, my Lord."

"And the other," Isaac continued. "Jenna. She must be rescued as well."

"I understand," Babi said, calmly now. "Iodem?"

"They will be told, my Lord." Iodem said, not looking up from the parchment he was scribbling on.

"Have these orders flown out as soon as you can, Iodem."

"I'll see to it personally, my Lord."

"Now, Isaac," Babi returned his gaze to the Earth Adept. "You will need Iodem's assistance to get to Venus Lighthouse, so I'm appointing him to accompany you on your trip."

Iodem looked up in surprise. "You are?"

"Fear not, Iodem, you will be protected with these Adepts."

"Yes, of course, my lord, as you command."

The four Adepts quickly worked out the rest with Iodem and Babi. They would meet Iodem at the Gondowan Passage Bridge, and walk onto Suhulla from there.

"I shall make preparations immediately." Iodem declared, before leaving.

"May you farewell, Isaac of Vale," Babi said with a sly smile. "May you farewell."

XXX

Now that Colosso was over, the streets of Tolbi were overflowing with people leaving the city. It took some time to make their way out the city gates, but once they were out, travelling along the wide, open road, it became a bit easier. Most of the people headed along the path towards the Karagol Sea, although there was no guarantee ships would still be sailing, given the current state of the sea. Others headed north to take the long walk around the Karagol. Isaac's party were practically the only ones to head east, towards Suhulla.

During the walk, Isaac had to travel with a hooded cloak to hide his face; apparently the Champion of Colosso was quite popular and he needed to pass through anonymously. Once they were out of the city and away from the crowds, however, Isaac was able to reveal his face again.

After a couple of hours of walking, sometime around noon, they arrived at the bridge that Iodem had spoken off. A wide river that flowed into the ocean north of them from the massive mountains to the south lay before them, and a wide bridge spanned across it. At the stone guard house, they found Iodem flanked by several guards. He was speaking with a soldier who appeared to be the commanding officer. He was giving a description of Saturos's party.

"So, have you seen them?" he finished.

"Yes, sir," the officer replied in a regimented voice. "Yesterday, it was. You don't easily forget a group like that, sir, if you don't mind my saying."

"Hmm… I see." Iodem frowned in concern.

"I did get the order, sir," the officer then said. "But by then it was too late."

"That's okay. We'll catch up to them later;" Iodem waved the man away." Ah, Isaac! Good to see you made it! Are you well?"

"I'm fine," Isaac smiled.

"That's good," Iodem replied. "Well, if everything here is in order, then, shall we be going? The town of Suhulla is a fair distance away, so we'd best be travelling quickly."

Together, the five of them crossed the bridge and headed east.

XXX

The walk along the Suhulla Road was fairly mundane and uneventful. There wasn't much to see in the Gondowan landscape. Although the climate was hotter, and the trees of a variety Isaac had never seen before back in Angara, it was all mostly flat and boring. No monsters attacked them – which was just as well as Isaac wasn't quite feeling ready to fight again just now – and Iodem wasn't much of a talker. After not saying much about his role as Babi's second-in-command, they started explaining their journey thus far to him. They tried to explain the concept of Alchemy, the four Elemental Lighthouses and how Psynergy worked. Iodem had trouble understanding, though, and got lost.

"You should just give up," he laughed after a while. "All this magic stuff just isn't my area of expertise. I remember once talking with master Kraden about this, and even he couldn't get me to understand. Of course, I didn't believe anything he told me at the time, thinking he was just obsessed with old myths and fairytales."

"But it's really quite simple!" Ivan insisted. "You see…" He didn't get any further, however, as they topped the next rise. Before them, further down the path, lay a large merchant caravan. And it was under attack.

The unconscious bodies of the merchants lay of to one side, all lined up, while a group of large men ransacked their items. Oddly enough, they weren't hoarding any of the valuable stuff. Silk clothes, gold coins, valuable jewels and various wares were all discarded into the same pile as the worthless possessions of the merchants. It seemed as though the men were searching for something in particular.

The men themselves were all dark, large, muscle bound brutes wielding wooden spears and clad in primitive looking animal skin clothing. The first word the popped into Isaac's mind for them was: 'barbarians'.

"Kibombo!" Iodem gasped in shock. "But what are they doing here?"

"Who are the Kibombo?" Isaac asked.

"The Kibombo are a race of vicious, war-like barbarians who live deep in the centre of Gondowan," Iodem explained. "We've had trouble with them in the past, but there haven't been any raids for years! What could have brought them here? And now?"

"Isaac, we have to help those people!" Mia insisted.

"Be careful!" Iodem warned. "They are powerful warriors, and will resist with fierce fighting!"

"Heh, don't worry," Garet scoffed, hefting his battle-axe, grinning eagerly. "We'll sort 'em out!"

Isaac drew his sword, and he noticed Ivan do likewise. "Let's help those merchants, then," the Earth Adept declared strongly. The four Adepts walked down the hill, ready for battle, while Iodem hung back, watching on. One of the Kibombo warriors noticed their approach, and shouted something to his companions in a deep accent. All of the warriors dropped what they were doing, and lined up along the road, facing against the approaching Adepts, spears held at the ready in battle position. There was perhaps only a dozen metres between the four Adepts and eight Kibombo. Isaac told his party to halt where they were.

"Let's not start a fight just yet if we can avoid it," he told them. "Let's try not to get up close to them if we do fight. Try to use long-range Psynergy, but don't kill them. Just… try and scare them off." They nodded in understanding. Being a leader was becoming easier.

A ninth Kibombgo warrior emerged from behind the merchant wagon. He held no spear, but his clothing gave him the appearance of having a higher rank, the Kibombo group leader perhaps. He wore on his head the fur of the head of some peculiar looking beast with yellow fur and black stripes.

"Do you have any shiny orb jewels?" the leader demanded in a deep voice. Shiny orb jewels? Why on Weyard would he want such a thing? Isaac was acutely aware of the Mars Star hanging at his side in its Mythril bag, but wasn't about to tell this thug.

"Why should we tell you?" Garet retorted, tightening his grip on his axe.

"Garet… that's not going to help!" Isaac hissed at his friend.

"Kibombo! Attack! Seize their items!" the leader commanded, and the eight spear wielding warriors charged forward.

"Okay, then. Attack, but just to scare them off!' Isaac commanded. He raised his hands and willed the earth beneath his enemies to move. A violent earthquake rocked the ground beneath the Kibombo and they stopped abruptly, a couple tripping over as fear crossed their faces.

A ring of fire started by Garet appeared around them, unnatural orange flames leaping up to a height above even the tall Kibombo's heads. They swung their heads about wildly, disbelief mixing in with their fear.

Ivan then pointed his Shaman's Rod at them, and forks of blue-lightning lanced out of the clear blue sky, landing randomly around the Kibombo as though the gods had taken it to mind to smite them, but missed by just that little bit.

Then Mia pointed her Angelic Ankh at them, and droplets of water formed in the sky, raining down on them. Hardly as spectacular as the other's efforts, but throwing the Kibombo into a panic none-the-less. The Adepts ceased their assault, and waited to see how the Kibombo would react.

"They are blessed by the Great Gabomba!" one of them gasped, as though pointing at gods who had appeared on Weyard before them.

"No! The Togamathericon takes them!" another proclaimed with a great deal of fear.

"They are demons of Acheron!" the leader declared with a touch less fear in his voice, but still taking a step back anyway. "We must flee! To the mountains!" Then he turned and fled with all the speed he could muster towards the peaks to the south, not even bothering to make sure his men obeyed and followed him.

The eight Kibombo did follow, however, scrambling after their leader without looking back, some of them dropping their spears in their panic. They disappeared into the thick forest to the south of the path, and weren't seen again.

Gabombo? Togamathericon? Isaac thought in confusion. What were those things they were talking about?

"Good job!" Iodem congratulated from atop the hill as he began making his way down. "You drove of the Kibombo! You've done our people a great service. Thank you!" The man reached where the Adepts were standing and stopped.

"That's okay," Isaac said modestly with a weak smile, sheathing his sword across his back.

"Hey, those guys were no problem at all!" Garet grinned. Isaac then realised that Mia had left them, running down the hill towards the merchants with her dress held up to prevent herself from tripping over it.

"We have to make sure these people are okay!" she called out without looking over towards them.

"Wait for us, Mia!" Ivan called out, sheathing his sword and following after her.

"Yes, we had best check to see that they are well," Iodem said in his official voice. He, Isaac and Garet continued down the hill after Ivan and Mia who were now where the unconscious merchants lay. Mia was kneeling by the first one, one hand laid gently upon his brow, her body glowing light blue as she used her Psynergy.

"It's okay," she said softly as they approached. "I don't think any of them are seriously injured, just knocked out by a blow to the head. They should be fine."

"Well, that's a relief!" Ivan sighed. Abruptly, the man Mia was healing groggily opened his eyes and slowly got up, blinking his eyes into focus.

"He's getting up!" Iodem gasped in shock. "Did she do that?"

"Sure did!" Garet replied. "That's our Mia!"

"But how?"

"With her Psynergy," Isaac explained simply.

"I didn't see anything!" Iodem protested.

"No, you wouldn't. You're not an Adept. We explained this to you, remember?"

"Oh, right! I still don't quite understand it, though." Mia had moved on to the next merchant now, and the first one finally became aware of his surroundings.

"Huh… what-who are you people?" he said in a cultured accent. Suddenly, alarm crossed his features and he looked around wildly. "Where are the Kibombo?"

"Its okay, it's okay," Iodem reassured the man softly. "They're gone now. These warriors rescued you by driving them off." The man's eyes took in Isaac and Garet and awe replaced panic in his expression.

"You boys took on nine Kibombo soldiers?" he asked in disbelief. "You must be very great warriors, indeed."

The man stood up and dusted himself off. "Thank you so much for your help." Then he smacked himself in the head, as though just realising that he'd forgotten something. "How impolite of me! I haven't even had the decency to introduce myself! Forgive me. I am Domon, leader of this group of merchants." Isaac and the others introduced themselves. By now, the rest of the merchants had been awoken by Mia's Psynergetic healing, and they all gathered together where Iodem and Domon quickly and succinctly explained what had happened. There were offers of reward, which Isaac and the others politely declined. After that, they kindly helped the merchants repack all their stuff again. Once everything was in place, Domon readied his team to head off towards Tolbi, their intended destination.

"Again, I must thank you all for your kind help," Domon said for the umpteenth time. "We'll be in Tolbi for a while, so if you're ever in town, come visit us and we'll make sure you get a good offer!"

"Thank you, we will," Iodem nodded politely. "Please, as you pass the bridge, could you inform the guards on duty there of this incident? They must know in order to maintain security in this region!"

"Of course we will!" Domon answered with an eager smile. "I want to make sure that this is the first and last time this happens! Now, if you'll pardon my rudeness, I want to get moving. I don't want to be around if those Kibombo return."

"Of course, I understand," Iodem replied. "Farewell!" They said their goodbyes and waved farewell as the horse drawn carts headed west along the dirt road, vanishing over the hill. Then Isaac's party turned east, and continued their quest to Suhulla.

A/N: And that's done. Next chapter, things really begin to get going. It's nearing the end of our epic journey, and the last stretch of the roller coaster ride is going to be the best, I guarantee you. Mark my words. Until then, I'll keep writing, and if you have anything you feel you need to mention to me, well, by all means, go right ahead. Adios!