Ok we left off with you all getting stuck in Icara Town and having an alchemist hating family threaten poor Ed with a pitchfork. Okay? Quiz starts now!
Part 3:Man Of His Word
The door slammed as Mr. Harris gave Ed one last bit of advice. If you could call it that. "Leave this town! Or Radford wont be the only one after your head!" he yelled. They all stood in shock of the incident that had just occured. "Who the hell is Radford? What's wrong with these people!" Ed asked more to himself than Kerissa and Al. "Brother quiet", Al said , "they're listening". Ed and Kerissa looked back to see several windows shut and a few curious eyes still thirsting for a look at what had made all the commotion. "Let's do what he said and leave" Kerissa said. "And let them win!" Ed yelled as though this was some kind of contest. "Ed, we're not welcome here" Kerissa said sadly. His eyes softened but they also held depression like wells of angst. "Yeah let's go" Ed agreed.They all started to walk down the coble stone/dirt main street with eyes still upon them. It was quiet like a funeral (Depressing!) until..."What the hell was that!" Yelled Ed freaking out. An egg , obviously from one of the windows above, had been dropped and landed on Ed's left shoulder. "Huh?" Al asked. Then, like rain, several eggs began to fall from the windows along with other things, mainly the entire contents of people's garbage tins. Kerissa tried to duck and dodge most of it but still ended up with a fish bone in her hair (ew). "Damm it! Run!" Ed yelled. Kerissa didn't need his invitaion. She had already began to run before he said that. As she ran through the hail of trash, she saw a door open but instead of pooring the entrie conntents of a bedpan or something a hand motioned for them to enter. "Ed!Al!" Kerissa yelled pointing. They noticed and followed her and through the open door. Once they entered, they found that the place was amazingly empty but cramped at the same time. "Quickly, now." said a voice most likely the one belonging to the hand that had motioned them in. They all huddled in as the person closed and locked the door. A man, the one who had closed the door,stood against the door holding the brass door knob. "So your the ones making all the comotion" he said. His voice was strong but seemed to be wearing thin like a man with too much burden. He had dull blue eyes that Kerissa guessed were once vibrant , pitch black hair that had one long peice hang in his face. He was also wearing thin like he only ate enough to survive like you could get much here Kerissa thought that farm was practiclly all dirt!. He must have been in his late thirties ,early forties. His clothes that were an old vest, a white collar shirt ,and black pants with boots to match were so worn and covered in dirt they guessed he must either work on a farm or do a lot of running himself. "Are you a farmer?" Kerissa asked him. "In a sense, come.", he said motioning to the table , "Sit.Have something to drink". "Oh gross! I think I may have stepped in that bedpan stuff." Ed whined. "So?", Al said , "I have egg all over my back!". The man looked at them but they hadn't even noticed he was there "I'll get you a washcloth." said the man. "Yes,", said Ed ignoring the man and continuing his conversation with Al "but you cant FEEL it, I think I might be sick.". "And a bucket." said the man turning a small corner and dissapearing into what Kerissa guessed must have been the kitchen. "Ed! Al!" Kerissa yelled getting their attention, "Sit!". They both gave her a surprised, scared look and sat quickly. Kerissa joined them moving a chair and sitting between them leaving only on chair on the oppostie side of the wooden table. Ed gave her a look for sitting in between him and his brother so she just scooted closer to Al who didn't mind at all. In fact he seemed happy. The man came back with four cups and a kettle of boiling water , also he had a washcloth hanging out of an empy bucket. He handed the bucket and washcloth to Ed first and then passed out the cups , of which had teabags in them (yum tea )." So, why did you come to a place like Icara?" asked the man as he poured the boiling water into the cups. Ed began to speak but Kerissa cut in. "Well it wasn't intentional" she started, " actualy we had some train touble and got stuck here". "Figures" said the man. "excuse me?" Kerissa asked. "No one comes here , out of there own will anyway".
That statement was true. And it made sense too. Why would they come here? It wouldn't be for the nice townfolk thats for sure. "What are your names?" asked the man after a moment of silence. Al chimed in. He hadn't talked much lately so Kerissa forgot he was even there. "I'm Al ", he said ,"and thats Ed and Kerissa.". He motioned at them separtatly as he announced their names. "Ed and Al Elric" Ed said quickly ,"She's just here for the ride" he said pointing his thumb towards Kerissa. She gave him a death glare. "Wait Ed Elric? Like Edward Elric the Fullmetal alchemist?" asked the man. "Yeah" , Ed said, "heard of me, I suppose.". "Yes, but I didn't expect you to be so short" said the man. Ed looked up from his finger nails (yes he was looking at them in that cocky way people do). "SHORT? WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT!" He yelled jumping over the table at the man . It took BOTH,Kerissa and Al to hold and get him back. "Brother,stop!" Al said. Kerissa felt bad for Al having to do this on almost a daily basis (but somewhere inside she felt bad for Ed having to deal with this on a daily basis...though she cause it half of the time). "Sorry. I didn't mean to...offend you." said the man staring at Ed a little funny (hey you would to). "Offended...like hell you did ...grummble grummble." Ed mummbled under his breath. "Well if you are Full Metal that I suppose that means you have a right to know." said the man. "Know what?" Kerissa asked. "He wasn't talking to you." Ed said angrily to her. "Shut it,shorty. Let the man talk." Kerissa snapped back at him. "Well as you've noticed the people here are a little...hostile,",he continued," and there's a reason for that.". "See a few years ago the old Mayor ,Mayor David Calncy, was torn during the Ishbalan War (not litterally). He had to chose. Either back out of the war and be called a traitor or do a full draft of the town.". He paused.Kerissa had heard of the Ishbalan War and that before the state alchemists were sent in, they had to do massive drafts for lack of manpower. And by the look on Ed and Al's faces,Kerissa could tell they knew what he was talking about too. "Well", He began again, "He ordered the draft. Over 4,500 men and boys were drafted. You see, this used to be a big city long ago. With over 97,000 people but this draft changed that. Half the people left before he made the desicion. And the ones that stayed...were sent to Ishbal. After the war only 137 men came back.". He stopped for a second.They all gasped at that number. 4500 to 137? So many people... He continued (again) "Well most of the widdows left, taking their children and some of the better off soldiers and their families did, too. Some were stuck here though because of injuries, mainly.". "Then one of the soldiers who had died, shot Mayor Clancy." . Kerissa gasped...but this still didn't explain why these people hated alchemists. Ed seemed to notice this too. "What does this have to do with them hating alchemists?" He asked as he passed the cloth to Al. "Let me finish , boy." ,said the man, " After the Mayor was shot, his successor ,Clarince Radford, took over. He is the the worst Mayor this town has ever seen but somehow he keeps getting re-elected. Probably fixes the elections. Well soon afterword ,the slauters started.".Kerissa, Ed and Al all seemed shocked. "People?" Al asked nervously. "Not at first", the man answered, " At first it was just farm animals. Chickens and cows that sort of thing. People thought it was a wolf pack. But it wasn't. It wasn't until the fifth attack on a human did they relize what it was... the first four were unidentifiable they had their bodies ripped open and their heads crushed.". He paused in disgust but started up again "First was a little boy , Seth Benjimen. Second, a milk delivery maiden, Clara Winster. Third, a little girl on her way home from school, Jessibelle Green. Fourth, a successful business man , William Tanner and fifth, a book keeper, Haden Deartry,". He stopped. He had a harder time saying this after the third victim.Kerissa was almost on the verge of crying.She had a overly active imagination and can instanly invision things that are told to her . In her mind, she saw all of their terrified faces... and mangled bodies. Ed also looked horrified.Kerissa couldn't tell on Al . He was so silent. "Next to the fifth body," The man started up, "was a transmutaion circle".They all gasped. So this was why, they hated alchemists. Had it really been an alchemist preforming all these attacks? "After that was found the Mayor," he said "Mayor" with disgust, "said he would find the culprit and ban alchemy. He kept true to his word with the exception of finding the culprit. But he did find a way to ban alchemy. He's a man of his word. Or so he says.". Ed had remained as quiet as Al for the last few minutes butKerissa could see him clenching his fists. A smirk came across his face. "Say," Ed began, " do you happen to know where the mayor lives?". The man seemed surprised at first but then said "Yes.He lives in the reserved Mayor's mansion west of town. But why?". "I have an idea." said Ed.He got up and motioned forKerissa and Al to follow. The eggs had stopped a while ago. "You don't happen to have a back door, do you?" Al asked. "Yes. I do" said the man" but what are you...?". Ed cut him off "We're going to go pay a visit to the Mayor." Ed said. Kerissa,like the man ,was a bit surprised, but went along with Ed anyway. "By the way"Kerissa said asthey all went out the back door "What's your name,sir? ". He looked atKerissa and then smiled. "Thomas , Thomas Green" he answered.Kerissa new instanly why he had became emotional at the thrid victim. She had been his daughter. "I'm sorry for your loss."Kerissa said quietly asthey left "Goodbye.". AndKerissa along with Ed and Al stepped out of the door and headed west down the alley.
It was already dusk when they reached the Mayor's Mansion. The dirt road up there hadn't been an easy trip.Kerissa slipped alot and Al had to helpher carry her things (Kerissa still had her bags!)."Thanks, Al"Kerissa said smiling to him.Kerissa could have sworn she saw him blush...or it may have been a trick of the light. Oncethey all reached the mansionthey were all very tired and Ed was complaining about how hungry he was. "Man if I don't get something to eat I'm gonna keel over!" Ed proclaimed.Kerissa kicked him in the back. "Keep going! Your the one who wanted to come up here!"She yelled. Al gasped.Kerissa and Ed looked up. Abovethem was a masive building. It was almost completly made of stone and surrounded by forest. Long wooden planks covered the roof. A huge door with a knocker of pure silver was in the front along with hundrerds of windows most of which were dark, practically every light was shut off. "Holy Shit!" said Ed. "Don't talk like that in front of a lady!"Kerissa said kicking him again. "What Lady!" Ed yelled back angrily. "Who's out there?" said a voice. Ed pulledKerissa and Al quickly behind a nearby bush. A man (presumably the Mayor)stood on the large front porch with a lantern. He had a red necklace on and was wearing profesional clothes despite the fact it was time most people should be getting to bed.(Yes I relize when you got to Icara it was already getting dark! But that was just clouds...says me.)The man looked around for a bit and then retreated back into his mansion . They sat in silence..for a second. Then, Kerissa relized something,she had become (once again) underneath Ed when he had pulledher behind the bush. "Why do you keep doing that!"Kerissa asked/yelled at him as you kicked him in the chest. "Why do you keep kicking me!" He yelled back."Because your being a perv!"She yelled. "Am not!" he retorted kinda going red. "Ed ,Kerissa. Please be more quiet ! We don't want to get caught!" Al said breakingthe two up. "Right"Kerissa said. "Ok", Ed said , "NowKerissa, I am going to go into the house and dirtract the mayor. You sneak in and look for anything that looks suspicious". "Me? Why me?" you asked. "Because he wont let just anyone in there . I'm miltary , he has to let me in" Ed answered. "What about Al?" you asked. "He'll go with you" said Ed. You smiled inwardly (that means in your head..to yourself...shut it!)."Ok let's go!" Ed said. "Wait!" you said but to late he was already off. "Stupid...impulsive ...grumble" you mummbled under your breath. "I know he's kinda unpredictable at times" Al said looking off to his brother, "but he really means well". You saw Ed ring the door bell, wait and then talk to someone for a mintue before being let in. "Yeah...let's go Al" you said. "O-ok" he said following you to the side of the house. After a few minutes of circling the enourmous house (it's huge!).Al spoke, "Um...what are we doing , Kerissa?" he asked. "Looking for a window that leads into the basement these kind of houses usually have one." Kerissa answered "There!".Kerissa pointed to a dark wooden window that was only a few inches from the ground.Kerissa and Al walked to it.Kerissa tried to open the window but as she had guessed, it was locked.She tried for a few seconds to get it open with a hair pin but to no avail. "Al,a little help?"Kerissa asked. "Sure" he said. He put his big gloved hands on the lock, turned ,and it snaped off. "Uh...", he said ,"sorry". "No, it's ok!"Kerissa said pushing the window open "See? It's open!".Kerissa slipped through the window and down onto the ground, it was a seven foot fall butshe had climbed and jumped down from large fences all her life and landed with ease. Al had much more trouble. "Maybe you should just take your armour off!" Kerissa said to him surpressing giggles as he awkwardly tried to shimy through the window. "Y-yeah." he said nervously. He eventually managed to get down (after slightly breaking the window frame ;). "Ok now we are in!..."Kerissa said asshe looked around at the dark cluttered basement ,"the basement...". "Dammit Ed. Where do we go from here?"Kerissa said out loud (thoughshe had kinda ment to say it in her head...sometimes her inner monologe shuts off. Heh heh.) "Er. Sorry Al"she said. He looked ather and then changed the subject "Look. I think I can see some stairs! There's light coming from the top of them".Why would that room be lit instead of all the others?Kerissa asked herself.Kerissa and Al head up the stairs, tripping a few times on assorted objects (i.e. books, table, trunk , singing fish...wait did they have those back then?). Oncethey reached the top of the stairs, Kerissa put her ear to the door to hear if anyone was out there. Silence. "Ok. I don't think anyone's out there."Kerissa said to Al. Soshe opened the door.
Ed's point of view
Ed run fromKerissa and Al up to the door. I hope they don't get caughtEd thought to himself.He got up to the door.He's to short to reach the knocker Dammit so, Ed ring the doorbell. After a few seconds the Mayor came to the door. "Yes? What do you want?" He said deliberatly looking down athim (he is much taller). BastardEd thought. "Hi.My name's Edward Elric. I'm from Central and I've been sent here to do a routine evaluation."he answered.Ed saw his face twist in worry for a second but then he calmed down and slyly said "Well. I don't know what you would find here in Icara, being such a small town, but please do come in" . He motioned for Ed to come in andhe did ,givingKerissa and Al one last glance. Oncehe entered the house, Ed found it to be very dimly lit with the exception of a few candles here and there. The walls were covered in old paitings of previous mayor's that seemed to stare down at him.Ed bumped into a small table that had been hidden by the dark. "Are you ok Mr. Elric?" He asked. "Yeah, just fine"he lied.His kneecap had cracked sharply against the table leavinghim with a throbing pain. Why couldn't it have been on my other side? Then I wouldn't have felt it at allEd thought to himself grimacing. "So Mr. Elric" , He said his arms crossed behind his back, still walking forward ,not even looking athim , "You said you've come here for an evaluation?. "Y-yeah" ,Ed said ," I heard there were a bunch of unexplained murders." . He nearly stopped in mid pace but kept his cool .Ed knewhe had him ."You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"Ed asked him slyly (Hey I just noticed people talk slyly alot in my stories). He didn't answer.Ed went on. "I was told that by the fifth victim was a transmutation circle and that you banned alchemy after it was found." "Correct." he said stopping in the hallway. "Well if you have such a heavy ban on alchemy then why is there an alchemic amplifier around your neck!"Ed shouted pointing at his necklace. "Heh", he smirked and said , "You shouldn't meddle in such things boy". "You're the one that caused the attacks weren't you?"Edasked to him. "Yes." he said but beforeEd could do anything he struck his hand to the wall causing a bright red light to ammit from it. The wall cracked and the floor underneathhim crumbled.Ed fell through the hole in the floor with a scream.He woke a few minutes later on a stone floor ,rubble all around him. "Ugh..."Ed moaned rubbedhis head Damn. that hurt...wait where am I?.Ed looked around but the room was pitch balck.Ed tried to stand up but nearly fell over.His leg had been damaged even worse in the fall. My leg!Ed thought. Then a bright light filled the room with a flash.Ed had to closehis eyes for a second because it was so bright. Oncehe opened them agianhe saw the room was huge and empty, it must have beem underground becasue it would have fulled the entire upper part of the mansion (what is up with this place and being huge?). A dark laughter filled the room. It echoed because of the size of the room. The source seemed to be the red rug covered platform at the end of the room. A stone fence spread across the platform to the two opposing sides that happened to have red rug covered stairs. Radford, a tall bald man with a mustash stood on the platform laughing. "Idiotic alchemist."he said "Did you really think I could just let you leave here with that kind of information?". "Whe-where am I?"Ed asked ignoring the striking pain and standing up . "Your grave." he answered smiling and reaching for his necklace. Aw shit...Ed thought.
Back to Kerissa's point of veiw
The roomthey opened was actually more of a library than a room. "OMG! This room is huge!"Kerissa exclaimed. It was full of shelves of books ranging from everything you could think about. From cooking turnips to dark slaughters of the 1800's, it was packed. "Wow look at this!" Al exclaimed. He had found a shelf full of history's of Icara mayors past. He picked up the one that would cut into Radford's years in office. "This must be updated very often!" He said noticing that it had already been updated to last month.Kerissa looked at him. Then her gaze softened. He stared back at her.Kerissa began to inch closer to him and were reaching for his helmet to pull it off. He got very nervous suddenly and turned exclaiming "Wow there sure are alot of books!". He fumbled with the pages of the one he was holding and then looked at it weirdly. "Wait. What's this?" he asked. "What's what?"Kerissa asked disappointed. He pulled out a small note hidden in a small pocket in the cover. The note read names. Seth benjimen , Clara Winster, William Turner, Haden Deartry ,and Jesibelle Green. "Those-those were the people who were killed." Al said "That means...". But he couldn't finish his statement because a large axe was rammed through his right shoulder. "Al!"Kerissa yelled turning to see his attacker , but they had ran leaving the axe."Al!"Kerissa said moving him to a wall to lean against it. "Oh no!Your arm!" ,Kerissa exclaimed, "We have to treat it right away!". "N-No!' he yelled. "Don't worry.I know what I'm doing."Kerissa said "I have to take your helmet off first". "No!Stop!" he yelled. But, Kerissa had already lifted it off his shoulders.
To countinue...lol i luv saying that