Sole Dorato: Lui Restaurarà
by Tafkae
Chapter Six: Vault
Menardi roused everyone early the next morning, as the cloudy sky was just beginning to lighten, and they broke camp and departed for the nearby town of Vault. For this leg of the trip their pace was a bit more relaxed, though they still moved with a certain sense of urgency; also, they continued to shy away from the road – just in case. Jenna didn't need to be dragged this time, but followed of her own accord, sticking close to Felix. The two of them spent most of the morning in awkward, hushed conversation (Saturos had insisted upon at least relative quiet), trying to catch up and relate to each other everything that had happened to them over the last three years. Jenna seemed to have more answers than Felix could think of questions for, and she had more questions than he really wanted to answer right away.
They reached Vault at a bit past noon; or rather, that was when they reached the spot near Vault where Saturos chose to have them stop. It was a little northwest and uphill of the town, about where the woods of the foothills gave way to the long stretch of plains below. "This is close enough," said Saturos.
"We're not going into town?" said Alex.
"No. At least, not all of us. We're still too close to Vale, and I've got a feeling that if we're going to have trouble with them it'll be today. The moment we set foot inside those gates, everyone knows we've been here – we kind of stand out in these parts, if you hadn't noticed."
"We do need supplies, though," Menardi reminded him. "Imil's still over a week away."
Saturos grunted. "Assuming we're still going. But yes, at any rate, this is the best place to pick up supplies. It's even a few days to the next town after this." He glanced around the gathering, from Felix, to Jenna (who was almost attached to Felix), to Alex, to Menardi, then back to Alex. "You. You're going into town."
"But I thought we didn't want to stand out," said Alex.
"Your skin's white, isn't it?"
"Felix is more average-looking than I am."
"Well I don't trust Felix," Saturos retorted, glancing to where Felix stood not four feet away. Felix furrowed his brow in annoyance, but said nothing; instead, he took Jenna by the shoulder and led her to a fallen log a little ways off, where they sat to talk in peace.
Saturos heaved a deep, impatient sigh and made himself comfortable where he was. Menardi crossed to Alex and took the common purse from her belt. "Here. There's a good amount in there, so if you manage to spend it all, you're a dead man."
"Yes ma'am," said Alex.
"I don't know how much Felix has personally. You can work it out with him when you come back." She tilted her head to look past him to Felix and Jenna. "Huh… figures we'd end up kidnapping someone he knows. Look at them! You'd think they were family."
"Oh, they are," Alex said casually. "She's his younger sister."
Menardi started. "That's his sister? The one he's been whining about for three solid years?" Alex nodded. "Why didn't he say anything?"
"He did. That's how I know." He smiled. "It works out for the best, I think. They were very close before they were separated back then."
"Were they." Menardi absently chewed her thumbnail for a moment, then finally added, "Go ahead and take her expenses from the common purse, too. Family is family."
Alex grinned and nodded, then started down what little hill was left between their position and the western gate of the town.
Vault was actually smaller than Vale by permanent population; a good third of its inhabitants at any given time were just passing through. Nestled just inside the foothills, it sat at a crossroads, with well-worn paths leading north, east, and south, and a rather overgrown path leading west. The road to Vale was apparently not used much, and what little use it did see was liable to diminish even further given the recent eruption.
For that reason, the west side of the town bustled less with travelers and more with actual townspeople, it seemed. He could hear with great clarity the sound of hooves on cobbled streets, but only saw one or two carts go by; most of the activity in this part of town just consisted of everyday folk running errands between the whitewashed buildings. Even this activity was sparse, though, since many of the people who could shut themselves indoors for protection did. As Alex continued into town, he became increasingly aware of the turned heads and pointed fingers aimed in his direction, but did his best to ignore the undue attention.
You're not the only one people gawk at, Saturos, he thought ironically.
Still, he felt a certain eagerness to be done with the shopping. The first grocer he came across looked well enough, so he stopped in there and picked up most of what they needed, this time actively pretending he had no idea what it was everyone found so interesting about him. As he finished and hoisted the now-heavier pack onto his shoulders, he noticed a commotion stirring outside through the shop's display window. Curious, he hurried outside to investigate.
The disturbance was centered around two town guards, one significantly taller than the other, who dragged along between them a small, blond-haired boy. The boy was putting up a good struggle, and protesting "Please, I swear I didn't do it! Let me go!" – but as both guards were easily half again as large as their captive, his resistance didn't do him much good.
Alex wasn't the only one who had stopped to watch; a few other passers-by were doing the same, some looking upset and others, smugly satisfied. But as it didn't appear anyone intended to intervene, Alex stepped forward and caught up.
"Hey!" he called, bringing the guards' attention to him. "Excuse me, what's he charged with, if you don't mind?"
"Robbing the temple during the eruption," said the shorter one.
"But I didn't," the boy insisted.
"Here, he says he didn't do it," said Alex, perplexed.
"He's lying. You know his kind—" the taller guard sneered and tightened his grip on the arm he was holding, which made the boy wince "—they can't be trusted."
"'His kind'? What's that nonsense?"
"Soothsayers, diviners. The so-called 'psychics.' Pack of liars," spat the tall guard. The shorter one nodded agreement.
"I don't see how having special abilities is a crime," Alex retorted, crossing his arms.
"Well, it isn't," said the shorter guard. "But robbery is."
"How do you know he's a robber then? If you don't have any proof other than all seers being liars, then you've got a pretty weak case against him, I'd say."
"I wasn't even on the same side of town," the boy pointed out hopefully.
The guards looked at one another and murmured something back and forth about he had a point and false arrests and demotion. After a moment of this, the taller one groaned and the two let go of the boy, who quickly scurried away to retrieve a long, thin, cloth-wrapped object that he'd dropped not far behind where Alex stood now.
"Watch yourself, boy," threatened the tall one, pointing at him. "We've got our eyes on you."
"Jerks," the boy muttered under his breath at their retreating backs, rubbing his arm.
Alex turned to him. "You all right?"
The boy nodded, then quickly bowed his head. "Thank you for getting me out of that, sir."
Alex looked down as well. "Yes, thank you, Shoes, we couldn't have done it without you."
Startled, the boy looked back up and stammered a little. Alex grinned. "You're welcome. What's your name?"
"I-Ivan, sir."
"Pleasure to meet you, Ivan, I'm Alex. Not that it matters much given how soon I'm leaving town, but still." He glanced about; the few people who had stopped before were already dispersed now that the interesting part was over. "Out of curiosity," he asked, turning back to Ivan, "are you really a psychic?"
Ivan sighed, clearly stifling annoyance. "I'm sorry, you must get that a lot," Alex added.
"Yeah… well… okay. Think of a number," said Ivan in a tone that said Let's get this over with.
Alex did, and Ivan closed his eyes briefly. Just then the Imilian felt a sudden slight twinge that vanished almost as immediately as it had appeared. It made him jump, and he opened his mouth to make a surprised remark, but before he got a chance, Ivan opened his eyes and said, correctly, "Three million twelve."
"Wow," said Alex, the twinge all but forgotten. "Amazing! Must be a useful skill, I imagine."
"Not really," Ivan replied nervously, averting his eyes. "Look, I, um… I have to go." He turned to leave, stopped, turned back. "Thanks again for your help," he said.
"You're welcome again. Goodbye," Alex replied cheerily. Without another word, Ivan fled down the street and disappeared at the next crossroads.
Alex stared after him even after he vanished. What an odd person, he thought briefly, then shrugged and returned to his errand.
Ivan sat down on the first bench he found once he had rounded the corner, and tried to sort out his thoughts. There was something about the blue-haired man that made him nervous, but he couldn't put his finger on what. After a moment he shoved that line of thinking aside and turned his mind to more urgent matters. Like food.
Even by looking at him, it was obvious he wasn't native to Vault; his brightly-colored clothing, while fashionable in his hometown of Kalay, was quite out of place among the muted hues that most people wore north of the river. Ivan had been traveling with is guardian, Hammet the merchant, mostly because of the edge his mind-reading ability gave them in the business arena; but the caravan had left this morning in the wake of the eruption, and here he was, left behind.
So, I have nowhere to stay, no money to buy food, and no way to get home, he thought with a sigh. In fact, all he had to his name right now were four silver pieces and a staff wrapped in cloth. I wonder how much I could get for the staff… He shook his head. What am I thinking? It's a priceless family heirloom! And not even my family at that…
His stomach growled, and he rubbed it to try and make it shut up. It didn't really work. Finally he got up and decided to see if anyplace was offering free samples. It'd be something, at least.
He wandered around town for hours with no luck, until finally, at about four in the afternoon, an old lady feeding birds took pity and gave him half a loaf of bread. He thanked her profusely and went a little ways away to eat it, leaning against a wall out of the way.
As he munched away, he absently took in the details of his surroundings. Only a few people were still outside in this weather – it wasn't raining, but between the unseasonable cool and the deep grey of the overcast sky, Ivan had been a little worried all day that he might get caught in a sudden cloudburst. The air didn't quite smell of rain yet, though, so he was probably safe.
Of the handful of people in the street, the most interesting one was a balding man with his two- or three-year-old son sitting on his shoulders. The man was pointing up the mountain and speaking to the son. Ivan wondered vaguely if he was teaching, storytelling, or warning, but didn't really feel like checking; at any rate, he didn't seem afraid like the rest of the townspeople, and it was kind of a refreshing change.
After a minute or so, though, he was distracted as two boys flagged the man and started talking to him. One had sandy hair and wore a long, bright yellow scarf around his neck; the other was a taller, well-muscled redhead. Neither was dressed in the style Ivan had come to associate with Vault. From here he couldn't make out what they were saying to the man, but it didn't matter, because they came and repeated it to him next.
"Hey, seen any interesting characters around lately?" asked Isaac.
Ivan blinked, and quickly swallowed the last bit of his bread. "Interesting characters?"
"Yeah," said Garet, nodding. "Specifically a blue-skinned man and a red-skinned woman."
Ivan shook his head. "No, sorry. I did meet a man with blue hair earlier today, but nobody with blue skin…"
He'd said something right; the duo looked to each other in surprise. "Wasn't there a…?" Garet asked.
Isaac nodded. "Yeah, there was. Did he say where he was going, kid?"
Ivan scowled. "Don't call me 'kid,' please, we're the same age. And no, he didn't, he just said he was leaving town soon."
"Aghh! So we missed them?" Garet threw his hands in the air in frustration.
"Hey, it's the best lead we have yet," said Isaac. "Thanks for your help," he added, to Ivan.
"Um… you're welcome," Ivan said to their backs as they began to walk away. A second later, though, an idea struck him, and he pushed away from the wall and went after them. "Um, excuse me, uh…"
The boys turned to him. "Yeah?" said Isaac.
"I really hate to ask this, but, uh…" Ivan scratched the back of his neck, starting to regret he'd thought of this. "Can you spare a few gold? I kind of got stranded here during the eruption, and I don't have anywhere to stay the night…"
"Why don't you stay with us?" Garet offered almost instantly.
"Garet!" Isaac shouted .
"Come on, Isaac! It's just one night…"
"I really couldn't," Ivan stammered.
"We don't bite," said Garet.
Isaac sighed, aggravated. "All right, all right, hang on. We're just staying at an inn tonight, so you know. Probably a really cheap one."
"As long as it has a roof," said Ivan.
"And it's only the one night."
"That's okay. I'm going to try and hoof it back home tomorrow morning anyway."
"Where do you live?" said Garet.
"Kalay, across the Blue River down south."
Garet nodded. "Ahhhh. Never heard of it."
"Yeah you have." Isaac shook his head. "Anyway, what's your name? I'm Isaac, and my friend is Garet…"
"Ivan," Ivan replied. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," said Isaac. "We may as well get that room now, come to think of it. I don't want to get in after dark and find out they're all taken."
"Good idea," said Garet, and all three of them headed down the street looking for an inn.
Pretty soon, Isaac tried to strike up a conversation. "So, uh, how'd you get stranded here, Ivan?"
Ivan bit his lip out of habit, then released it and explained. "I was with this merchant caravan going through town, and after the eruption, Hammet – he's in charge – he got spooked and decided to leave town all of a sudden this morning, and the other guys sort of accidentally-on-purpose left me behind."
"Not just accidentally?" said Garet.
Ivan shook his head. "No, I woke up the same time as everybody else… they just drugged me and put me back to sleep, and when I woke up again, it was noon and everyone was gone."
"That's not very nice," Garet remarked.
"Yeah," Isaac agreed, disgusted. "Geez, why would they go to all that trouble to ditch you?"
Ivan stiffened. He knew exactly why they would go to all that trouble, but didn't want to say it. He tried to phrase it differently than the way his mind first put it. "They … didn't like that I can…"
He trailed off, realizing he shouldn't have said anything. The surprise he felt from Isaac told him the question had been rhetorical, but it wasn't now, evidently.
"That you can what?" asked Garet.
"Read minds," Ivan mumbled. "That – that I can read minds."
The other two were taken aback, as he'd expected. "For real?" Garet exclaimed. "That's awesome!"
"It's not that great," said Ivan, looking away.
"Sure it is. You could make a fortune off the blackmail alone."
Ivan was about to voice his offense at that when Isaac spoke up, cutting him off. "Hey. Ivan, let's say you needed to find someone, quickly, but didn't know where to look. Can you do that?"
Ivan thought. "Uh… probably. Why?"
"Because I just thought of how you can pay off your share of the room."
"The question remains, where do we go from here?" Menardi asked. Alex and Saturos sat in the circle with her, but neither had a good answer off the top of their heads.
"If we had all four stars it wouldn't be an issue," she continued. "But we don't. So is it worth it to go around and light the three towers we can, when the Mars Star has been destroyed?"
"Somehow I doubt it's been destroyed," said Alex. "It's possible it survived the eruption. And it wouldn't make much sense if the only way to save the world were that easy to ruin, anyway."
"It's not a matter of making sense," Menardi countered. "It doesn't make sense that they sealed the power up to begin with."
"I'm sure it made sense to the people… who…"
Alex trailed off, then quickly turned and looked back at Vault through the trees. "What is it?" said Menardi.
"I'm not sure," Alex replied warily. It felt like the same kind of twinge he'd sensed when that kid – Ivan, was it? – had read his mind for the number… Disconcerted, he turned back to the circle. "I guess it's nothing," he said, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
"I think I found her," said Ivan. It hadn't taken long; the first person named Jenna that he found in his scan of town had matched their description of her.
He sat on the edge of one of the beds in the room they'd rented, with Isaac and Garet seated across from him on the other. The two lit up as he said that. "That's great! Is she all right? Where is she?"
Their questions bit into his concentration, and he held up a hand palm out to shush them. "Hold on a moment, just a moment…" I hope the link's strong enough from here, he thought to himself, and then, uncertainly, he sent a greeting to the girl at the other end.
Northwest of town, and maybe twenty yards from the rest of their group, Felix and Jenna gathered up firewood for the evening in near-silence. Both felt they ought to be speaking, but didn't know what to say to each other at all.
Jenna finally turned to her brother, her arms full of sticks and pinecones for kindling. "Felix… you still haven't told me why you're helping them."
The Psynergy wave he was trying to split his current log with went askew and sent a large chip of it flying, missing Jenna's head by just inches. Jenna flinched, but didn't move from her spot. Felix stared at the log; from his expression she knew he had heard her question, but it didn't look like he knew how to answer it. Well, that was all right, she had all the time in the world to wait for an answer.
She didn't get one, though, because just then a voice rang out inside her mind. "Hello – Jenna?"
With a loud gasp, she jumped back, letting her kindling clatter to the ground. Felix turned to her, surprised. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Who's there?" Jenna shouted, spinning to look behind her. The forest was empty. What on earth was—?
"Don't panic, don't panic!" the voice called again. It was similar to the voices of the statues in Sol Sanctum, but clearer, uncluttered by background gibberish; and this voice sounded like a boy, not a woman. "You don't have to talk aloud. I can hear you either way. Are you alone?"
"Who—" She swallowed, then jumped as she suddenly felt her brother's hand tap her shoulder. Felix. Felix is here.
"What did you hear?" Felix asked, concerned.
"I – I thought I heard…"
"Your brother Felix?" said the voice.
"Yes. What? I – I heard a – I guess there's nothing there, heh heh." She flashed him a nervous smile and then, suddenly realizing she'd dropped the wood, bent to pick it up. Felix raised an eyebrow, puzzled, but gave it up for the moment and got back to chopping.
After Jenna had about three of the sticks back in her arms, the voice piped up again. "One second, I forgot to introduce – my name's Ivan. I'm in town with Isaac and Garet—"
She froze, her eyes going wide as saucers; it was all she could do to keep from shouting out loud. Isaac and Garet! They're alive? Oh my god, they're alive! I can't believe it! Can I talk to them? Where are they?
"C-calm down, please! I – we're in Vault, at an inn. I'd love to let you talk to them directly, but I don't really know how… I'm sorry," he added, noting her disappointment.
She sighed. Okay. Um. How did they escape from inside the volcano?
For a second she sensed Ivan wondering why she would ask something like that, but he still gave her an answer a few seconds later. "They don't know how themselves. They woke up in their homes later that evening, unharmed – and the Mars Star was found, too (I don't know what that means). They say they've actually been banished from Vale until they can recover the other stars and free you. Ach – wait—"
Jenna waited. In the meantime she noticed Felix looking over at her again, and resumed her re-gathering of the sticks on the ground.
"Ay… they're giving me too many questions at once. Are you all right?"
She nodded unconsciously. Yeah, no one's hurt me or anything. She deliberately didn't mention that they'd almost decided to kill her, but even as she thought of it sideways like that, she felt a foreign rush of shock and worry as Ivan picked it up anyway. I – I don't want them to worry too much! If you heard that, leave it out.
"Uh – okay, if you say so…" Another pause, and another few twigs returned to her arms. "Isn't your brother, uh… dead?"
She looked up at Felix again, and realized he'd already finished with the bigger logs he was supposed to get and was leaning on a nearby tree, waiting for – and watching – her. She flinched and retrieved a bit more of the kindling.
No, he's not dead. Everyone thought he was – he was washed away and disappeared for three years – but it turns out Saturos and Menardi – the blue and red ones – saved his life and now he's working with them.
"Do you trust him?"
I – She stopped as it occurred to her that she didn't really know. It's only been a day. It's like meeting him all over again. I trust him more than the others, though, that's for sure. It wasn't as if she had much in the way of choices.
As she reached down to grab another handful of her old kindling, she found her hand digging up only dry pine needles. All the sticks were finally back in her arms. Felix noticed and stood up. "If you're done, we should go on back," he said, extending her a hand. A little hesitantly, she took it and let him pull her back to her feet, and absently followed him toward camp.
Alex, still a bit uneasy, watched the two as they approached. Saturos only acknowledged them as they came within a few feet of him. "About time you came back. What took you so long?"
Felix glanced at Jenna, who still didn't appear to be paying attention, and then back. "Nothing," he said at last, and placed his wood in the center of the circle. Jenna jumped and did the same a second later. Alex kept his eyes on her. Whatever it was that was bugging him, it was centered around her. It wasn't her mere presence, he knew, because her being there hadn't bothered him at all before; in fact, he rather liked her. So what was it? he wondered as she sat down near her brother.
Jenna didn't notice his attention, but instead listened carefully to what Ivan continued to say within her mind. "Isaac and Garet want you to know they're coming for you. Tonight, I think."
She tensed a little. But – Saturos and everyone are really on alert right now! They're expecting trouble tonight. I don't want you to get hurt…
Curiosity overwhelming him, Alex got up and crossed the circle to Jenna, standing not directly in front of her, but almost, and stared down at her slightly bowed head. He glanced at Felix and gestured at the girl questioningly. Felix looked to his sister, then back to his friend. "What?"
"I'm not going personally," Ivan chuckled nervously. "But I'll let them know."
I don't want them to worry too much. I think – I mean I'm sure Felix won't let anything happen to me.
Alex squatted to bring himself to about her level. "Jenna?"
"Okay, that's good. Isaac says they'll wait until the opportune—"
"Are you all right?" When she didn't respond, he leaned forward and took hold of her shoulder.
What happened next was over in a flash. Jenna cried out in shock and scrambled to her feet, inadvertently dragging Alex up with her, but as they did, his eyes met hers – and met the eyes beyond her eyes, a mind beyond her mind – to his surprise, Alex recognized it – and then, just as quickly, all three went reeling away from each other as the mind reader, without warning, snapped the link.
I'm aware Ivan does not count as an antagonist.
I like Ivan.
Updates are sluggish because I keep getting stuck shortly after the next chapter. My apologies. I'm working on it.
(coughreviewcough)