Chapter 6: Behind Bars
I awoke, feeling groggy and pummeled. My head was pounding with horrible pain, as though my brain had been given it's own personal, enthusiastic beating. My vision was a little hazy, but slowly, everything slid back into focus. I sat up and found myself in a bed. As if by instinct, I clutched my hand to my belt. My sword was gone. I also felt inside my pocket. The Black Orb that King Hydros gave me was gone. Then, I heard a voice say, "Ah, you're awake!"
I quickly looked around, noticing I was in a room where one of the walls was nothing but bars, kind of like a cage. Then I noticed a young man and a much older man standing side by side in front what seemed to be the door. "We were worried you weren't going to come around, young man." The old man said to me.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"You are in the village of Madra, sir," the younger man said.
"And where is that?" I asked, as I was not too familar with the geography of the outside world.
"It is on the continent of Indra, young man," the old man said.
"Please," I said, slightly irked by being called "young man". "Call me Piers."
"I'm sorry," the younger man said. "How rude of us not to introduce ourselves sooner. I am the mayor of Madra."
"And I am Madra's town elder." The old man said.
"Nice to meet you." I said, shaking their hands. "If I may ask, what building is this?"
"I'm sorry," the mayor said again, his eyes narrowing. "But, you are in the town jail."
"Jail!" I shouted. "What am I doing in a jail?"
"Relax," The elder said, patting me on the shoulder. "And we shall tell you."
"You see, Piers, our town was recently raided by pirates," the mayor said. "They came from Champa, a city on a continent to the very far north."
"That's about where I saw a bright yellowish-greenish light!" I exclaimed.
"Ah, so you saw it too?" the elder said, astonishment in his eyes.
"It was the last thing I remember seeing before losing consciousness." I said sincerely.
"It was breathtaking," the mayor said. "But, anyway, the people of Madra were afraid it might happen again, so when they found your ship washed on the shore and your unconscious body laying there with it, well..."
"They thought I was a Champa, and locked me in here, right?" I asked angrily.
"Yes." the elder said grimly. "They also took your sword and a black jewel that was in your pocket."
So that's what happened to them! I thought. "You aren't from Champa are you, Piers?" the mayor said suspiciously.
"No!" I said quickly. "I come from... the heart of the Eastern Sea."
"So, you are not one of Briggs' men?" the mayor said.
"No, I am not." I said, before realizing whom they were referring to. "Hang on. Who is Briggs?"
"He was the leader of the pirates who attacked this town," the mayor explained. "We managed to capture him and a few of his men when he pillaged our town."
"How did they escape?" I asked.
"Not long after they were captured and put into this very cell, strange foreigners came to raid the town, and in the din of all the chaos, Briggs and his men escaped." the elder said.
"Where did they go?" I asked.
"They escaped to the continent of Osenia, which our continent had slammed into after the tidal wave," the mayor said.
"We thought should check on you before we, and a group of fellow Madrans travel there ourselves to pursue him." the elder explained.
"Why would you risk your lives to capture him again?" I asked.
"A majority of the townspeople won't listen to us if we tell them you're innocent, Piers." the mayor explained. "They'll only accept it if Briggs says he isn't your leader."
"So, you need Briggs for evidence..." I said.
"Yes." the elder said. "Well we must be off, Piers."
"Good luck!" I said. "Hurry back, and most importantly, be of sound health, elder."
"Thank you, Piers," the elder said. "And, don't worry, I will."
And, they were gone. I had never felt so lonely since my father left Lemuria all those years ago. I got up off my bed and started pacing back and forth. I have become my father. I thought bitterly. Then, another voice emerged in my head, saying, Come on, Piers, don't think like that. Your father loved you, and not only that, he left because he had to, just like you did now, but you're still alive and there's always the hope you'll be freed.
"Yeah, hope." I said aloud, as if to myself. "But, my father never got locked in a cell under false pretenses, did he?"
Suddenly, yet another voice said, "Piers?"
I whirled around. There was a young woman standing in the doorway. She was holding a tray with food. "Are you Piers?"
"Er... yes." I said, slightly shocked.
"The mayor and elder told me about you." the woman explained. "I've brought you some food."
Then, she proceeded to unlock the cell and set the tray down on the ground, turned around, and left, locking the cell back up behind her. "Thank you!" I called after her.
She must not have heard me, because she continued on her way. Either that, or she just decided to ignore me. Either way, I looked down at the food. I saw it was just some kind of weird stew, and some bread. I wolfed it down hungrily. The stew tasted a little funny, and the bread was a little stale, but, hey, it was best I could eat in such conditions. Several days past, with the young woman bringing me meals all the while. I hope the mayor and elder are all right. I thought on the fourth day. Then, on that same day, I had more visitors, a couple of guys probably wanting to make me suffer. "So... " One of the men said, with dripping contempt. "You must be Piers."
"Yes, I am." I said, as politely as I could under the circumstances. I even forced a smile.
"Don't you smirk at me, Champa!" the man said angrily.
"I am not a Champa." I said, keeping as of much of a calm tone in my voice as I could.
"Sure you are." the man said sarcastically.
"I am speaking with the utmost sincerity." I said, trying to keep things good-natured, which, believe me, was not an easy task.
"Come on, admit it!" the man said, egging me on. "You're one of the Champa, aren't you, Piers?"
"As I have told you before, I am not a Champa!" I said, growing slightly angrier.
"Then, where did you come from?" the man said with a sneer.
I turned my back on the man. I did not wish him to see my growing fury. It would have probably only encouraged him. "The heart of the Eastern Sea..." I said, as calm as I could. "If I told you where exactly, you probably would not believe me anyway."
At these words, the man grew -if it were even possible- even angrier. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" the man snapped. "Are you trying to mock me!"
I turned back around, my fury growing. "I implore you... do not anger me." I said with deadly calm.
Not noticing the anger in my eyes, the man smiled. "Oh do you?" he said mockingly. "And just what are you gonna do?"
The man's friend, who had not said anything through this entire scene, finally spoke up. "Hey, Shin..." he said, his voice quavering a little. "Maybe you should go a little easy on him..."
The man who I now knew as Shin turned to his friend. "Hey! It wasn't your girlfriend who got hurt, was it?" he asked indignantly.
"No..." Shin's friend said quietly.
"Then, shut your pie hole!" Shin said angrily.
"I am so sorry she was injured, Shin, but, I-" I said, trying to make things friendly again, but he cut me off.
"I don't need your sympathy, freak!" he spat. "I want you to get angry for me!"
"Please..." I begged. "Even my patience has limits..."
Ignoring me, Shin turned to his friend. "Don't you wanna see what he'll do?" he demanded.
"I think we should just stop..." Shin's friend said.
"I'm sorry it has come to this..." I said calmly, despite the fact I was angry, so angry that it made the incident with Conservato look like I was calm at the time. "But, if my words cannot cool your temper, then... FROST!"
"Frost...?" Shin said, his anger replaced with confusion. "What the...?"
I had aimed my Frost Psynergy at the very puddle that Shin was standing on. It rose up and froze into an ice pillar. Shin cried out in shock and terror as the pillar rose up beneath him.
Soon after, he lost his balance and fell down onto the hard ground. Shin then got up, took one look at the ice pillar, then at me. I simply shrugged my shoulders. Then, he was out the door like a shot, screaming like a little girl all the while. His friend looked after him for a moment, and then he turned to me. "Did you do that?" he asked, a little surprised.
"What did your friend expect?" I asked, the anger still in my voice
At this reply, Shin's friend slowly backed away from me, his face transfixed with horror. "Y-you monster!" he stammered.
"I... I am no monster." I said, calmly walking towards him.
"Keep away from me!" he screamed. "Help! Help!"
And, soon he too was out the door like a shot; running past a group of four people I had not even noticed had entered the prison. One of them was a young man, about 18 years of age or older. He was equipped with a fine-looking sword. He had long, dark brown colored hair, fixed up into a ponytail. Next to him stood a lovely young woman. She looked like she was 17. She carried a staff in one of her hands. She had long, flowing auburn hair. I also took note of a certain fire in her eyes you don't normally see in such beauty.
Next to her stood a very young girl, approximately 14 years of age. Her hair was short, blond, and done in in some kind of soup bowl fashion. She too carried a staff. Next to her stood an old man. He was dressed as if he were some sage. For some reason, I was reminded of Babi. I merely pretended they were not there and resumed my pacing. "That man..." I heard the old man whisper to the others. "He must be an Adept!"
"Yeah." the brown-haired man whispered back.
"It was clearly Psynergy we saw being used," the auburn-haired girl whispered.
"Perhaps I should find out more about him," the blond-haired girl whispered.
"Go ahead." the old man said.
The young girl walked up to me. I just kept pacing. After a few minutes of silence I turned to her and said angrily, "What do you want? Are you here to make fun of me, too?"
"I merely wanted to see what's troubling you," she said calmly and politely.
"I think you already did." I said grimly.
"Are you sure it's not more than that?" she asked.
"No!" I said, more firmly than I would have liked. "Now, would you please leave me in peace?"
She walked off to join the others. Why did I have to use my Psynergy in anger? I thought. My actions should not have to cause regret. Dammit! It was then that I felt the sensation of Psynergy on my body. I looked around for the source, and my eyes landed on the young blond-haired girl. Could be the one who's...? I asked my self. Then I shook my head in denial. No. This girl is not a Lemurian. I sighed deeply and went back to wondering when the elder would be back to free me.
The four travelers left, and once again, I was lonely. Not long afterward, the mayor's wife came to check on me. I told her everything that had happened up to when Shin's friend departed. She told me she would deal with Shin and left. Several more days past, and something strange happened. I felt the sensation that there was very powerful Water Psynergy nearby. I looked around, but within the confines of my cell, I could not find it. But then, it abruptly vanished, and I once again found myself feeling empty and alone.
Some time later, many of the Madrans who were traveling with the mayor and elder had come back to town, bringing word of my innocence. Believe me, I had never felt happier. As soon as they let me out, however, disaster stuck. Foreigners came and raided the town. Everything was a blur except for me getting my sword back and fighting them off as best I could, but with no success. They had taken my black jewel that I needed to helm my ship. I went to chase after them, but the Madrans held me back saying, "Are you mad? Those were the Kibombo!" and "You can't possibly think of going to Gondowan alone!"
All the same, I merely ignored them. I set out, reequipped with my sword, to confront the Kibombo and get my orb back. I was determined get it back no matter the cost. Even if that cost was my lifeā¦
